Afterglow
by SetoAngel01
Summary: Making love for the first time seemed to be the epitome of Raphael and April's relationship. Little did they know it would only be the beginning. Pre and Post Drabbles centered around 'One Year'. Shameless 2k12 Raphril.
1. Coffee

_**Afterglow**_

 **Rated: T**

 _Summary: Making love for the first time seemed to be the epitome of Raphael and April_ _'s relationship. Little did they know it would only be the beginning. Pre and Post Drabbles centered around 'One Year'. Shameless 2k12 Raphril._

* * *

 **These are drabbles set in the One Year Universe. Could range from K to M depending on my mood. Hope y** **'all enjoy them. xoxo. Onward to Chapter 1!  
**

* * *

 **Coffee**

 _Chapter Summary: The morning after..._

* * *

It was at least three days before she could walk right.

Ah hell, it was worth it though.

At least that's how April felt the morning after her and Raphael finally consummated their over one year relationship.

Waking up to his strong arms wrapped so tightly around her, his soft breath along her forehead and cool lips pressing lingeringly against her face.

 _It was wonderful..._

For a grand total of five seconds.

That was when the most painful, uncomfortable, and all around, _unpleasant_ burning exploded around the vicinity of her nether regions.

For now, April bit her tongue, trying not to let Raphael know just how much pain she was in was proved to be quite the challenge. Every time she shifted to try and make the pain a little more tolerable just caused more agony to lit across her groin and her spine.

Were those nerves and muscles even connected somehow?

Opening her eyes to his smiling face made her kinda want to kill him for the pain she was experiencing. While not exactly up to murder, she still wanted an opportunity to beat the ever-loving crap out of him for causing this, but she supposed that could wait until after a cup of coffee.

Seconds later, April couldn't help but smile seeing how happy and downright, for lack of a better word, ' _Perky_ ' Raphael seemed to be this morning. It was now she realized Raphael probably needed to let laid even more than she did. She didn't think it was liable to change his whole personality, but she quickly summed it up to being the rise of endorphins running rampant through his system.

April wasn't gonna deny that even though her entire core felt like it was on fire, she still felt rather upbeat. As a matter of fact, the longer she looked at him, the more the kernel of love she felt toward the green eyed terrapin continue to grow. Something definitely shifted since last night and she felt utterly changed by the whole experience. Her lips were soon drawn to his and he more than happily obliged, quickly rolling on top of her. Inwardly groaning in pain at that action, the agony was quickly forgotten when he proceeded to kiss her until she was nearly breathless.

Once their kisses slowed to a lingering end, Raphael pulled away and smiled at her in a way she never saw before. His eyes were nearly sparkling and the drawbridge he usually put it up had been torn down as if it had never even been there. She could easily see every emotion he was feeling and more importantly, she knew her eyes reflected the same thing - no words were necessary.

Raphael uncharacteristically and rather affectionately, rubbed his snout along her nose and pecked her lips before finally speaking for the first time that morning,"Hey, since ya did such a bang up job wearing me out last night - how's about we go ahead and skip training today?"

April's smile fell before she attempted to slap him aside the head only for him to dodge it.

"Hey, that was a compliment! Besides, I was just kidding, O'Neil. Frankly, ya can barely turn over without flinchin'." Raphael continued as April's face proceeded to turn redder than a beet.

"Well, whose fucking fault was that - OUCH!" April said, realizing sitting up probably wasn't the best idea, but her mistake was caught a little too late.

In the span of a second, Raphael steadied her, sitting next to her on the bed.

"You okay?" he mumbled softly as his fingers brushing along her flushed cheeks and he intensely studied her face. April remained quiet, his scrutiny taking away her ability to form words as the desire she felt for him warm in the pit of her belly.

"Yeah..." she whispered in a barely audible rasp as she lifted her hand to brush a tumble of hair behind her ear.

"Good. Ya know, even though ya did kinda ask for it - cause screaming and askin' for 'harder' and 'faster' probably ain't the best things for a first timer..." he spoke with a wiggle of his brow ridges only to get slapped in the face.

"Hmph! I can't believe I ever wanted to sleep with you!" April growled, trying to shimmy out of his hold.

"Aw, come on, April! I was just joking!" Raphael mumbled, holding her closer to him. "Don't be mad at me, babe... C'mon..."

April pouted at him, slapping him along his plastron for good measure. April nearly jumped when she suddenly felt his hand cupping her groin.

"What in the _actual hell_ do you think you're _doing_!?" April seethed.

April tensed but relaxed when she felt his fingers gently massaging the tender flesh between her legs. She met his eyes and her anger instantly melted away when she saw the concern lacing those beautiful green eyes.

She never could manage to stay mad at him for long...

"I'm sorry... I admit, that was really stupid of me to say... Please. I'm sorry..." Raph muttered, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead. "Listen, just let me help ya feel better. Can I get ya anything?"

April swore she was dreaming. While Raphael was nice (to her anyway) most of the time, he was never really nurturing per-say. To see him looking so concerned and offering to take care of her was nothing she was fully prepared to see.

"Huh?" April asked for lack of anything else better to say.

"What can I get for ya? How about some pain killers and uh - maybe a cup of coffee? I don't know how you drink that nasty crap, but I could try and take a crack at makin' it for ya if ya want."

"Really? You'd do that - for me?"

"Hell yeah. I'd do anything for ya, April. Ya know that."

She smiled, leaning over and kissing his snout. "Well if you're offering, a cup of coffee does sound pretty great and since a morphine and demoral drip doesn't seem to be available, I guess some pain-killers would work."

"Sure." Raphael replied, rubbing her tender flesh just a few more times and kissing her lips soundly before standing to his feet and making his way to the kitchen.

"Don't forget to wash your hands first."April sneered cheekily to his retreating back.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Raphael mumbled in response.

April couldn't help but smile at the back of his head as he left the room. She gingerly laid back against her cool comforter and once in a position that wasn't laced with horrendous agony, she closed her eyes. The sounds from the kitchen carried over to the bedroom. Listening to Raphael's heavy footsteps making their way into the kitchen, the sound of him bustling around, doing mundane things such as making coffee made a warmth reverberate throughout her chest. It felt so comfortable and what she could only describe as 'homey'. It was this moment she realized that she never wanted to wake up anywhere else. This felt so perfect - so right - so wonder...

"AW, SHIT!" Raph screamed from the kitchen nanoseconds before a large crash of what could only be the sound of her father's $2,000 espresso machine hitting the floor, reverberated through the house.

April put her face in her hands, the wonderful visuals of her beloved boyfriend bringing her breakfast in bed wearing nothing but a frilly polka-dot apron quickly dissipated.

"What the hell was that?" April muttered through her hands, wondering why she was bothering to ask.

She was rewarded just a moment later when Raph popped his head back into the room with the look of sheer doom plastered on his face.

"Hey, April... Um... Due to unforeseen circumstances, yer coffee might take awhile before it's ready." Raphael spoke a moment later, a nervous smile on his face. "How about I make ya something else in the meantime? I know! How about cereal? I don't think I could screw that up."

April peered at him through her fingers and gave him a dry glare. "If anyone could, it'd be you, Raphael."

"Aww, I'm glad you think so highly of me, O'Neil. One bowl of cereal coming up!" he said, a cocky smirk lighting up his face as he disappeared from the doorway.

April sighed, her fingers dragging down her face, really not wanting to see the mess her boyfriend made but knowing she better go in and stop him before he had the chance to further destroy her house. She reached over the side of her bed and put on her fluffy yellow bathrobe and matching slippers before walking in her kitchen only to find a very guilt-ridden Raphael sweeping up the remains of the machine into a dustpan.

Approximately an hour later, the kitchen was clean. Her father was going to have a cow when he found the shattered remnants of his beloved coffee machine stuffed into a closet, but April was hoping Donnie would be able to help out with it before her father returned from his business trip. If not, she already planned an elaborate story of the Kraang ransacking the apartment and stealing it for the copper tubing. It was a stretch, but with the crazy shit they were always getting into - that story wasn't _completely_ outside the realm of reality.

The worst part the grim reality facing her was having to live without a coffee pot until it was fixed or replaced - or until she convinced Raphael to put on a disguise in order to pick her up a cup of coffee from the Starbucks down the street. But really not wanting to wait until hell froze over, going coffee-less was not too bad. Sure, the lack of caffeine would affect her sooner or later, but as of right now, April wasn't going to complain.

Currently, she was fully medicated with the strongest Tylenol she could find and the excruciating pain in her nether regions below was now nothing more than a dull ache.

Yeah, she'd be hobbling like an ninety year old lady for the next few days, but as she lay propped up against Raph's plastron and enjoying a bowl of overly sweet cereal with her terrapin boyfriend while they watched a terrible horror movie on Netflix, she couldn't find it in herself to even give a damn.

The coffee could wait...

For three hours until Raph, who in hot balmy summer weather, was stuffed into: oversized sweatpants, huge khaki coat, hideous fedora hat, boots and gloves returned with an venti iced caramel macchiato.

The pout on his face did nothing to ease her pain as she erupted into a fit of uncontrollable laughter as she watched him struggle out of the tight clothes.

After her giggling died down, Raph was glaring at her from the edge of the bed, the condensation from the iced coffee dripping upon his lap. April bit her lip and scooted over to him. He seemed as cuddly as a porcupine with PMS right now, but he was so fucking adorable that April couldn't help but throw her arms around his neck and kiss his cool lips. While stiff and awkward at first, she was soon able to entice the reptile to kiss her back. Smiling against his lips, her hand pulled the cold drink from his grasp and placed it on the night stand next to the bed.

"Thank you for doing that for me." she whispered, removing the hat he was still wearing and throwing it atop the pile of clothes on the floor.

Raph tensed when he felt her hand suddenly cupped his groin.

"Now let me make it up to you."

...

Twenty minutes later, Raph lay back on the bed, his eyes nearly crossing from the pleasure his girlfriend had just given him. He groggily looked over to where she sat propped up with pillows against the headboard; her eyes glued to the screen ahead of her. He found her pink lips puckered as she eagerly sucked the melting iced coffee through the straw _awfully_ distracting.

"Wow. What was that for?" Raphael mumbled breathlessly.

April pulled away from the straw for just a moment to look down at where he lay next to her. The edges of her lips tilted up slightly as she smiled at him.

"Gotta have my coffee."


	2. Unrequited

**Unrequited**

 **Rated: T**

 _Chapter Summary: (Pre-_ _'_ _One Year_ _'_ _) April and Donnie finally have the talk._

* * *

Sitting in the lair watching Donatello fix her father's expensive French coffee machine was bound to bring up old memories for April.

While her and the purple-banded turtle were close friends once again - it had been more than a year since it happened - there was still moments like these that caused certain feelings to rise to the surface.

"What happened to this beauty?" Donnie asked with a raspy chuckle as he looked around the remains of the coffee maker.

"Raphael happened to it." April said coldly as she cradled a warm cup of coffee in her hands, still not yet completely forgiving her destructive boyfriend. Even if he did apologize profusely and even went out to buy her coffee - in public - in the daytime. She wasn't mad at him per-say, she thought it was more the lack of caffeine invading her brain and making her cranky or it could be she was about to have her period any day. Combined with all those factors, she decided once Donnie fixed it, she hoped she'd feel much better. The coffee Donnie did make her was improving her mood but not by much; at least it was helping curb the caffeine headache she was suffering from.

"Yikes. Sounds about right. Hope you didn't ask him to make you a cup."

"I didn't. He actually just offered." April shrugged.

"Ooh. Well, hope you learned your lesson. He's like a bull in a china shop when it comes to the kitchen - even worse than Leo, which is frankly, quite frightening. You know, he nearly set the lair on fire trying to make a can of soup a couple years back. He thought a twenty minute rolling boil would be appropriate; which would have been one thing if it had been in the proper saucepan - but... Yeah. Never mind. To make a long story short, Master Splinter pretty much banned Raph from the kitchen until further notice." Donnie said with a smile, trailing off and going back to inspect the broken machinery in front of him.

"Heh. I'll keep that in mind." April replied with a chuckle after taking a sip of the sweet brew from the chipped ceramic cup.

"That would be wise." Donnie said, glancing at her for just a moment; his mouth in an easy gap-toothed smile which she quickly returned.

April glanced up at Donnie for a moment after he had returned to working on the machine. He appeared physically to be doing very well. He no longer had large bags under his eyes and seemed to be getting proper nutrition and sleep. In other words, he looked remarkably healthy compared to seven months ago when they finally had "the conversation".

As Donnie continued to work, it was watching his hands in sure movements and he began fixing the machine when the conversation rose headfirst into her mind...

* * *

It's been a long time coming.

Over 9 months to be exact.

April wasn't really prepared to face Donatello after what she coined as "the incident". Which could basically be summed up to Donnie and Casey catching her and Raphael making out by the lake in Northampton, that escalated to everyone else finding out about their relationship all at once. In hindsight, it was not _exactly_ how she pictured breaking the news to any of them. In fact, it was probably the worst way possible, but it was too late.

But what was done was done and there was no turning back the clock.

At first, she avoided him, or more precisely, Donnie was avoiding her...like the plague.

Donatello was by no means the only who was having a hard time with it either but to be fair, Casey was a different beast altogether. He was pretty much over it in just over two weeks and that was mainly Raph's department considering Casey's angered rant consisting solely of, "My best friend **betrayed** me!"

There was a _big_ difference.

Her and Casey had indeed become close friends over time and he shamelessly flirted with her whenever possible; those brazen innuendos of his never got unnoticed, just ignored most of time time, but all in all, it was pretty clear it was just in good "fun". Casey really never seemed outwardly genuine of wanting to pursue a serious romantic relationship. Casey Jones was more for hooking up, which April was strictly against. If Casey seriously thought she was willing to lose her virginity on basically a one-night stand with him, he had another thing coming. If he was that dense, she would have sicked all her turtle pals on him a long time ago, but that was never their relationship. They were good friends. How this whole thing between him and Donnie fighting over her actually started, she'd never fully understand... But it all boiled down quite simple for her; the differences between the relationship she had with Donnie versus Casey all came down to one simple fact.

She never kissed Casey - the same couldn't be said about Donnie.

April tore over exactly why she in fact did kiss Donatello a million different times in her head over the following nine months. She was so conflicted and confused over the whole issue, and she concluded, that as lame as it sounded in her head and verbally, she had basically done it on a whim.

As bad as it sounded - It just happened.

April just assumed it was because she believed she had no choice in the matter. Donnie loved her and over the course of knowing the turtles over two years, that didn't wane in the least even if she felt nothing but a loving friendship toward him. If he loved her, she just came to assume she needed to love him back. Over the course of the invasion, her own personal desires fell to the wayside as her main job was just trying to keep everyone together and sane. The last thing she wanted was more conflict, and so when Donnie told her how she must see him like a freak, April believed that was the turning point. In his self-conscious mind, Donatello came to the understanding him being a freak was the reason she didn't love him back- April panicked.

The last thing she wanted was to make her friends feel like freaks. She loved them all dearly and she hated the fact they had a tendency to self-hate on their appearance when they all were so wonderful and perfect to her no matter what the rest of the world might think of them.

April glanced up at him and saw those big sad brown eyes and out of pretty fucking nowhere, she pulled him down and kissed him smack dab on the lips.

What surprised her was more of how innocently she smiled and walked away while the whole time she was screaming internally just wondering what the hell she had done. She had really fucked up big time and now came the time to sit back and wait for it to implode in her face.

That didn't happen until a few days later when she kissed Raphael atop that chicken coop and he miraculously kissed her back. Just days after putting her mouth upon Donnie's, she was now making out with his hotheaded brother.

It was no wonder Donnie was confused.

When he caught them, he had _every_ right to rant, rave, and scream...but that was just it -

Donnie didn't do any of that.

Matter of fact, he was nearly silent and that's what really freaked April out.

April had no idea what to expect. She was terrified Donnie would do something stupid. She knew he would rather cut off his own arm than ever lay a hand on her, but Donnie could be mentally self-destructive. Working himself for days non-stop without eating or drinking a thing. Donnie was also passive aggressive and took jabs at Raphael whenever possible whenever she wasn't around. She didn't find out about little tidbit of information til her and Raphael were going out for over eight months.

She assumed the role of caretaker and just went about her business whether Donnie was talking to her or not. As time passed, her and Raphael's relationship continued to grow and she just came to grow comfortable as she could in this new environment. It was as if the whole balance of power shifted and where Donnie was always next to her, Raphael easily filled in that space. They were rarely apart and it was a nice, albeit strange shift of events.

Over the next few months, she was learning more about this turtle she'd fallen so hard for and vice-versa. They grew closer to the point she rarely thought about the guilt hanging over her head and those sad brown eyes. Instead, her memories were now filled with bright green eyes, wise-cracking banter, and his cocky smile.

It was after they had made their way back to New York that she realized just exactly what Raphael had been going through with Donnie without her knowledge.

Donnie had been undermining his own brother, pushing his buttons and making Raph's life a living hell behind her back. While Donnie could never take Raph in a fight, he was doing it psychologically, reminding Raphael and prodding him with every flaw and throwing back every word his older brother may have said to him over the course of Donnie's pursuit of April. It was when Raph and April were alone one night in the lair he ended up telling her everything.

Little did Raph know what April was going to do once he fell asleep.

"DONNIE!" April screeched without any notice, she busted her way into the genius terrapin's lab. Paying off Mikey with his favorite pizza to use his body blocked against the door to impede Donnie's only other exit.

"We are talking and there is _nothing_ you can do about it!" April shouted, her hands firmly on her hips and a look of determination etched onto her face.

Donnie looked absolutely petrified standing next to his line of beakers and the goggles on his face making his eyes twice as big as they actually were. If this wasn't such a serious situation, she would have outright laughed at the look on his face.

"A-April. Do you know what time it is? What are you doing in here?" Donnie asked while shakily putting back the beakers on the bench and taking off the gloves and goggles.

"We need to talk this out." April clarified, making her way quickly to the purple-masked turtle until she was right in front of him.

Donnie's eyes glanced around for an exit. He had been awake for over seventy-two hours and April was by no means a novice kinouchi anymore. He would never make it to the door fast enough. Having no other choice than face her, he sighed before finally meeting her beautiful blue eyes, which even when they were laced with unbelievable rage, he swore he'd never seen a more beautifully colored iris.

"I'm listening." Donnie spoke softly, sitting down on his lab chair.

April was taken aback for a moment. It was now she took notice of the large bags under his eyes and just how bloodshot his eyes had become. It was as if he'd aged over five years since that night over nine months ago. All of the sudden, the rage in her dissipated. She saw the torment Donnie was going through and knew it was all her fault. The friend she treasured so much just looked hopelessly in disrepair.

"Oh, God, Donnie. I am so sorry..." April said, her eyes burning from holding back sudden tears, the words flooding from her mouth as the need to apologize outweighed any anger she was feeling toward him at that moment. "I never meant to hurt you - you need to believe that."

Hearing those words broke something in Donnie. The rage he had been feeling since finding her making out with his brother just days later. He exploded.

Donnie couldn't help but snort at that statement. "Oh, so you kissing me was just - what? A fluke? You really expect me to believe that you and Raphael hooking up just days after kissing me was not meant to hurt me? How do you propose that I could possibly believe that?" Donnie said, his voice terse and dry as he stood to his full height over April.

"Donnie. Please. You need to understand something. I've been in love with Raphael _way_ before I kissed you." April replied, wishing to a higher entity that that sounded better than it did coming from out of her mouth.

She realized her mistake in the way Donnie's face took on no more emotion than a stone. His eyes hardened and his mouth was nothing more than a thin line.

"Hhn. So, you took absolutely no notice of my affection for you and just used me this whole fucking time!?" Donnie shouted, the obscenity leaving his mouth shocked her more than she cared to admit.

Donnie was the last of the turtles to revert to such language thinking it undermined his intelligence and now she had no idea what to expect from the genius terrapin.

"Donnie, please, you're misunderstanding. I didn't mean it like that!"

"No. I understand this situation perfectly. In fact, let me explain it in a way you can easily grasp - let's see here..." Donnie spoke sardonically, placing his finger on his chin. "Over the course of the two years I've known you. I have upgraded your computer, actually took the time to make you a cellular phone, given you many gifts, and spent more time helping you with your homework than I've spent training with my own father and so many inventions I canned in lieu of helping you excel in your coursework. Yet, you've rebuffed my feelings - thrown gifts back into my face - and overall, avoided uncomfortable conversations about how much I care about you. Over time, I learned maybe it wasn't going to happen. That I was in way over my head and I needed to face it. Then, right out of the _freaking blue_ \- you kiss me right on the cusp of me finally getting the hint and starting to let the idea that you feel any sort of affection toward me go to the wayside.

Finally, for the first time in two years, I actually believed you started to feel the same way about me. Those three days were some of the best of my life. The sky looked brighter, the outlook on this whole situation seemed to disappear when you kissed me...

Then, out of nowhere, I find you with your tongue down my _own_ brother's throat...

Now, you think I'm the one who has a problem? You think I'm the one at fault for this situation when I have been damn pleasant and accommodating considering these hellish circumstances? I have not yelled, I have not ranted and raved like I wanted to. I gave you all the space you need so you can go ahead and kiss and fuck my brother all you want!"

" **What?!** Now you wait just a damn second, Donnie!" April shrilled, her face bursting into flame.

" **No!** I'm not done, April." Donnie said, punctuated by one large finger pointing accusingly at the redhead. "You're gonna listen to me. I gave you every single piece of my heart and you treated me like some used kleenex! You used me and just threw me away after I gave you what you needed with _complete_ disregard for my feelings. You had plenty of time to tell me you didn't feel the same. If you had just **told** me before I caught you with my brother, I would have understood. I would have backed off and let your live your life, but you didn't do that! You toyed with my emotions and made me look like a damned _fool_!"

" _That's enough, Donatello_! I told you on multiple occasions I just wanted to be friends! You were the one who refused to believe me!"

" _You lead me on!_ "

" **I did not!** " April shrilled, her hands hardened fists shaking by her side. "You remember when I was patching you up and said I did not want to talk about it. I plainly said I didn't feel the same way and that I didn't want to hurt you by spelling it out! Don't you _dare_ throw your guilt on me! For the first time in two years, I did something for me! I pursued Raphael because I seen potentially someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. You were not just some wayside causality in the whole thing, I just fell in love and I was fortunate enough that he felt the same!"

" **Bullshit**! I'm done listening if you're just going to continue and lie to me, April! Now - just - just _get out of my lab_!" Donnie said, the words getting caught in his throat before he outright forced them out.

" _No._ " April growled, her palm slapping harshly onto his lab table, the vibration sloshing the liquid in their glass beakers.

Donnie's eyes followed the precarious liquid. Once he was pleased they would not splash upon the surface, he turned his hardened chocolate eyes back to the seething redhead in front of him. While he never would physically hurt April, he wanted nothing else to do with this. He had been cordial, he had been downright kind to her considering the circumstance. If he was being truthful with himself, he was harder on Raphael than he was on her. He didn't see it but knew his brother had been 'shmoozing' her probably the whole time and stealing her right under his nose.

How his short, pigheaded, angry brother earned the affections of the beautiful April, Donnie would never understand, but he had dealt with it the best he could. If anything, Raphael deserved the biggest tongue lashing possible since beating him into an inch of his life was nearly impossible considering the muscle mass Raphael had over him made an actual fight a bit unfair.

April seemed to be on fire. Her eyes were blue steel as she met his own unflinchingly. Her soft pouty lips were in a firm line as she dared Donatello to tell her to leave again.

"What the hell do you want from me, April?" Donnie asked suddenly, his hands in tight fists by his sides.

"I want you to apologize to Raphael."

"Are you insane? I'm never apologizing to him! He's the one who stole you from me! Why should I apologize!? Oh, or would you rather me congratulate the jerk for doing such a bang-up job of _stealing my girl_!?"

"I was _**NEVER**_ yours, Donatello! I am not **anyone's** property and I sure as hell am not even Raphael's! I don't belong to anyone. I _chose_ to be with Raphael. It is a mutual relationship based on trust and respect. I care very deeply for you Donnie, but what you have been doing to Raphael behind my back has to stop."

"Aww, isn't that just sweet? Fighting his battles for him, huh? Is he having trouble coming to talk to me himself?"

"Shut up, Donnie. Raphael could beat you into an inch of your life blindfolded and with one hand tied behind his back and you know it! He came to you multiple times for you to only turn your back on him and leave the room! You don't even give him a chance to explain himself! He feels so much guilt it's eating him alive! If you have a problem, you come to me! Don't you **DARE** take it out on him. This had nothing to do with him at all. I kissed you, Donnie. If you should be mad at anybody, it's me."

"Oh. Thank you so much, April. I actually have a right to be mad at you?"

"Don't give me that crap, Donnie. I already apologized."

"Aw, why isn't that nice? You're apologizing to me for taking advantage of my affections towards you and using them for your selfish gain as I go along with it like some trained poodle? And during it, I was working so hard to make things for you, you're sneaking around with Raphael behind my back the whole time? Oh, why thank you, April. That makes me feel _so_ much better." Donnie sneered, his eyes more menacing than she'd ever seen before.

Before April realized what she was doing - she slapped him.

Donnie was more shocked than anything. His brown eyes were wide and hurt as he stared at the former object of his affections.

" _How_ _ **dare**_ _you..._ You think this was _easy_ for me? Having to hide my feelings for Raphael because I knew how you'd feel about it? I hid my feelings for over _a year and a half,_ Donnie. I never even would have pursued him had you not been fighting over me with Casey like I was some fucking piece of steak at a butcher block! If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself, Donatello, because I'm _done_. If you want to know who really made my realize I don't belong with you - look in the mirror." April seethed before turning around and heading toward the door.

Donnie was in front of her before she could walk three steps.

"Where do you think you're going!? We're not done! The only reason I was fighting with Casey is because I knew he was trouble! You should have seen the way he was looking at you! I was afraid, okay!?"

""Why!? You know I can damn well take care of myself!"

"I know that, April! I just - I finally believed that I was going to have a chance and be with someone and here comes along this weirdly attractive roguish human and suddenly, it becomes painfully clear of who you are - and what I am... But still, even when you had a chance with this human, you were still talking to me and making me feel special and... That I maybe - just _maybe_ \- had a chance...You made me believe that maybe someone as beautiful and wonderful as you could love me regardless of _what I am_..." Donnie said, the hitches in his voice punctuated with his hand helplessly waving between them before coming to rest on his chest.

April remained speechless, tears burning the back of her eyes as she stared at the one she still wanted to consider one of her dearest friends.

April didn't fail to notice the wobble in his lower lip when Donatello finally continued, "...Then you chose Raphael..."

A bitter laugh escaped the purple banded turtles lips as his eyes fell to his feet, "It was then I realized you didn't want me because of what I am...You just didn't want _me_... So, I took it out on Raph. I wanted to point out that he doesn't deserve you and could never feel the same about you that I did... _That I still do_..." Donnie finished as April witnessed twin trails of tears dripping from his down-turned face.

"Oh, Donnie..." April whispered, everything in her body wanting to go and comfort him.

"No. I don't want your pity."

"You have to believe me, Donnie. I _never_ meant to hurt you... Please, _just look at me_... **Please!** " April begged, not bothering to hide the hitch in her voice.

Donnie's teary chocolate brown eyes met hers and she nearly broke. The fight from him was completely diminished, and now that his anger was gone, he just seemed so lost. His eyes red and teary and the bags underneath dark and out of place on his young face. He bore the scars of so much pain and heartache and it nearly tore her heart out to realize it was because of her.

"I may love Raphael, but I still love you too, Donnie. You're one of my best friends and I feel like I could tell you anything. We were so close that maybe I just didn't understand just how... How strong you really felt... and just how bad I hurt you - because that was never my intention. Maybe it was selfish of me to continue the charade, but Donnie, I never meant for it to happen this way, you need to believe that.

I miss _you_... I miss _us_... I miss what we had and I don't want to lose it. I want you to forgive me, I want to be your friend again - but I'm giving him up either, Donnie - and if you cared about me the way you say you do - you wouldn't ask that of me...

Donnie, I don't love you that way simply because Raph stole my heart first. It wasn't you. You are wonderful and I know you'll find someone that'll love you the way you deserve to be loved someday.

I'm sorry, Donnie... _but it's just not me..._

That doesn't mean I still can't love you too. I will always love you, my friend, even if you'll never forgive me. I understand if you never want to talk or even want to see me again...

I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry that I hurt you...and thank you, Donnie. Thank you for everything you've done for me. I can't even begin to repay you, but please, let me try. I just want my best friend back... _I'm so sorry..._ " April sobbed, tears dripping down her face as she stared into Donnie's eyes.

It started with the barest flinch in his face before she saw a crack in his stony facade.

Before April realized what happened, Donnie had wrapped his arms around her. She sobbed into his plastron, her hands wrapping around his shoulders.

" _I'm sorry too..._ " Donnie breathed against her hair.

It wasn't the moment that fixed everything, but at least it was a start...

* * *

"All done!" Donnie said happily, finishing taping up the last of the copper tubing.

April smiled at the obviously patched together machine, but knew it would run like new no matter what the outside appearance may otherwise display.

"Wow! You're a lifesaver, Donnie! Thank you so much!" April said, standing to her feet and hugging the turtle around his stomach.

"You're welcome, April. Anytime you need me, I'm here." Donnie replied, a soft smile on his lips.

"I know. Makes me happy to know that I can always count on you." April said, gently patting his plastron.

Donnie suddenly hugged her and she gladly returned it, squeezing him tightly. When he pulled away and looked at her seriously, she froze, wondering if he knew what she had been thinking about the whole time he'd been fixing her dad's machine.

"Your really should go in there and probably verbally forgive the destructive lug. This afternoon when he called me about breaking your dad's coffee machine, he sounded absolutely petrified. Raphael never sounds like that. I think you really scared him." Donnie said with a laugh, gesturing to the door of his lab.

"Yeah. He kinda was...and by the looks of things, now that it's fixed, I don't really have anything to be mad at him for. So, yeah, I guess forgiveness sounds good right about now. Heh. Thanks, Donnie." April said, hugging him quickly once more before gently grabbing the coffee machine.

"Anytime." Donnie said with a wave and a big gap toothed smile before he went back to working on his retro-mutagen.

April stood in the doorway for a moment looking at the purple-banded terrapin as he worked. The conversation flashing through her mind - the years he loved her - and when he finally let her go.

"Donnie?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm always here if you need me too." April said softly.

"I know. Thanks." Donnie replied with a smile, his eyes bright and clear.

April smiled back before quickly walking into the living room with the patched up machine. She almost laughed out loud when she saw Raphael sitting on the couch as stiff as a board. Placing down the machine on the kitchen counter, she faked anger as she walked over to her petrified boyfriend.

If at all possible, Raphael's eyes appeared larger, his pupil's mere pinpricks as he watched her approach.

April fought down a giggle as she watched his Adam's apple bob up and down as he gulped.

"Bad news, Raph..." April said sternly, her arms crossed tight across her chest.

"W-what?" Raphael muttered, his eyes as big as dinner plates..

Within seconds, she jumped on his lap and kissed him soundly, her arms easily wrapping around his neck. Raph quickly returned it before pulling away a moment later with a soft pop.

"Wait - b-but you said, it was bad news!" Raph stuttered angrily, his face a brilliant shade of red. April just sat atop his lap innocently, both arms still wrapped loosely around his neck.

"It is. Donnie was able to fix it so now I can't be mad at you anymore - and I can't force you to wear that sexy khaki jacket to go get me coffee." April said, punctuating her two points by poking his snout with a thin finger.

"What, you nearly gave me a heart attack when- wait...sexy?" Raph asked with a slightly smirk, his brow ridges furrowed.

"Yeah. Ya know, even with the moth-eaten holes and bad smell, it kinda just fits you." April smiled cheekily right before Raph stood up and plopped April on the floor, right on her ass.

"Where the heck are you going?!" April shouted to his back as Raphael walked away before quickly returning from his room with a huge water gun.

"I'll show you moth-eaten and bad smell." Raphael threatened, flashing a feral smile and cocking the water gun much to April's discomfort.

"No... No, Raphael... No. No! **NO!** " April screamed as she was pelted with a spray of cold water, which she sadly learned later on was from the sewer.

" _I'm gonna kill you_!" April shouted, running after the red-banded turtle across the expanse of the lair as said turtle just roared with laughter, easily outrunning her.

Donatello watched silently from the door, a soft smile on his face as he witnessed their shenanigans.

"Well, what do you know? Those two _were_ made for each other." Donnie said with a chuckle before closing his lab door with a smile on his face.


	3. Periods and Confused Reptile Boyfriends

**Afterglow**

 **Rated: T**

 **Periods and Confused Reptile Boyfriends**

 _Chapter Summary: Raphael learns of the wonders of the human female reproductive system... and not in the fun way._

...

April remembered when they were in the middle of making out. But it wasn't necessarily her fault, because whenever Raphael kissed her like this, she normally forgot to remember a lot of things including her own name. It didn't help that she had just lost her virginity less than three days ago and was so horny it actually made her physically ache for him...

...But this was a kind of a biggie...

"Wait..." she mumbled, her hands against his plastron as she pulled away from his lips.

"Hrn?" Raph grumbled in response, his eyes heavily-lidded.

"We can't..."

That small statement brought the greed-eyed terrapin to full attention.

"Wait...what?" Raphael asked, his eyes wide as he stared at his pretty redheaded girlfriend.

"Um... We can't do this." April was no help in clarifying.

"...Huh?" Raphael clearly wasn't any better.

April's face flushed a beautiful shade of red and how her lips puckered and pouted as she pondered how exactly to break the news to him proved to be very distracting. Raph's eyes followed her lips movement until April suddenly cleared her throat, causing his eyes to once again meet hers.

"I'm on my period." April said, her face resembling a maraschino cherry at this point in time.

"Huh?"

April rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation at Raphael's dwindling vocabulary in these last few moments.

"We can't have sex because I'm on my period." April clarified.

"...Period?" Raphael asked quizzically, the confusion easily observed just from the sheer expression plastered on his face.

"Yes. Period. Ya know, period?"

"Yer gonna havta give me more than that, O'Neil." Raph responded, his sex drive quickly diminished just by how serious this conversation had gotten, even though his hands remained firmly planted on her flared hips.

"Wait, wait wait... Let me get this straight - you've _never_ heard of a period?"

"Oh, yeah, Splinter was certain to bring that up during training since it's so freaking important..." Raph sneered sarcastically.

"No. Seriously, Raphael? I mean, let's see - One, you're a horny teenage male. Two, we've been together for over a year, so you've been thinking about sex on most likely an hourly basis. And three, you _must_ have Googled _woman parts_ online at least a couple dozen times and you've never seen 'period' mentioned _anywhere_?"

April's face was now not the only one beet red at this point in the conversation.

"Hey, yer the one who was looking up turtle tails and asking where my junk was stored!" Raph protested, his arms removed from her waist to cross tightly across his chest as he glared at his girlfriend.

"Oh my god, Raph. I told you I was just curious! Oh, and since I've never seen a mutant turtle's penis before and obviously we're together romantically, so I just figured it's gonna come up eventually. It was for research to know what I was getting into!" April growled, her arms crossed as well.

"So, that one night when ya thought I was sleeping, yer poking my ass trying to find my tail!"

April's face flushed at that statement before protesting, "I thought you kept it tucked in somewhere! If you were a little more open about the subject, I wouldn't of had to look for myself!"

"Ooh, was it for more research?"

"You're seriously gonna be like this?"

"Yer the one who started it!"

"Me?! Just what the hell _did_ you look up!?"

"Aw, shit, April, stop gettin' off topic and just tell me what the fuck a period is!"

The following moments were quite a tense atmosphere. Coiling down to a staring contest and test of wills to see who'd be the first to crack.

The sobering moments after their terse argument, April realized just how stupid this all was. Her head fell and she sighed dejectedly and her arms fell to her side. She looked up after a moment at Raph's face before she placed her hands over his crossed arms.

"I'm sorry." April breathed, gently prying his arms apart.

"...me too." Raph grumbled, his arms falling to his sides before grasping her small hands in his own large mitts.

"We really need to stop getting into these stupid arguments." April mumbled with a sigh, staring at their conjoined hands as she massaged his wide palms with her small thin fingers.

"Why? They're so much fun." Raph smirked.

"Yeah, but they're the sign of an unhealthy relationship."

"Unhealthy relationship? I'm a freakishly huge mutant turtle thing and yer a telepathic half-Kraang half-human atrocity. I think we're doing pretty well considerin' the circumstances, O'Neil." Raph chuckled.

"As true as that may be, I think we should tone it down a notch."

"Why do ya think I give ya such a hard time, April?" Raph spoke softly, making April lift her head and look him in the eyes quizzically.

"Why?" April asked, genuinely curious.

"Cause yer fuckin' hot as all hell when you're mad and huffy... Yer cheeks get all red and yer eyes get all intense. It's just fuckin' hot, babe." Raph whispered with a wiggle of his brow ridges as he put his face close to hers.

April furrowed her brows and her mouth a thin line as she stared at the green-eyed terrapin.

"See? Like that! Ya have no idea how hot that gets me..." Raph muttered before kissing her.

April flinched for only a moment, kissing him back briefly.

"We still can't do this." April explained a moment later after pulling away from his mouth.

"Oh yeah... So, ya finally ready to tell me what a period is?" Raph asked, adjusting himself to get more comfortable on the couch, his carapace leaning against one of the arms.

April's face flushed not fully believing she was going to have to explain her monthly battle to her mutant boyfriend. "Okay. To put it simply, once a month, we human females have a hormone cycle and a window of time when we're most fertile. But if we don't get impregnated by the time it's over, the unfertilized egg drops, and we bleed for a couple days. Only for the cycle to repeat itself again next month."

"So... Basically, once a month - ya bleed...outta...there?" Raph asked, gesturing around her groin area.

"Yes, and..."

"...I thought I smelt something." Raph interrupted.

" _ **Excuse me!?**_ " April asked in horror, her face growing red again.

"Yeah, it's kinda faint though. My smelling ain't as good as my bros though considerin' that accident I got into a kid messed up my sinuses, but still better nose than a human. I just assumed maybe ya got a cut or something."

April cursed those scented tampons and candles she bought hoping it would distract her terrapin boyfriend from picking up on the scent. She somehow forgot Raphael was anything but discreet and didn't have much of a filter on his big mouth sometimes.

"Yer feeling okay, though?" Raph asked softly, scooting over to sit next to her.

"Pretty much. I took a pill so the worst of my cramps are over. I just can't wear light colored pants just in case of heavier bleeding. While it's a little uncomfortable at times, it's not too bad. But from what I heard from other girls, I have it good. For a lot of girls, it's basically a week from hell."

"Really?"

"Yeah, one of my girlfriends doesn't get out of bed for three days with some of _the worst_ cramps." April accentuated by holding her hands over her stomach.

"Ugh. That sucks." Raph agreed, nodding his head.

"I know... So, with everything, I consider myself pretty lucky."

"Yer damn right. Ya have such an amazing boyfriend that's so understanding and caring during yer period." Raphael smirked, this thumb pressed against his plastron.

April couldn't help but snort at his expression and cocky words.

"I mean, anyone but me would be a total jerk considering you kissed and made me believe I was gonna get laid only to turn me down." Raph said, a hand over his heart and the biggest sad puppy dog eyes he could muster.

"God, you're really something..."

"Ya know it girl." April was speechless when he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him.

"...What are you doing?" April asked skeptically as he enticed her to lay back on the couch.

"Ya said yer belly was bothering ya." Raph clarified, his hands skirting along her stomach.

"Not too ba... Oooh..." April said, the words dying in her throat when he began to massage her flat stomach, his thumbs stroking up and down along her protruding hip bone.

"How's that feel?" Raph whispered, lowering himself to brush his lips against her covered stomach.

"Raphael... Don't... You know we can't... " April whimpered, the desire for him pooling in her stomach.

"No sex. Got it. I guess I can last for now... But you didn't say anything about making out..." Raph muttered, lovingly kissing his way up her body as he slowly made his way over top of her. He lowered slightly, his lips enticingly ghosting over her own as his hands continued their sensual dance against her flanks.

April bit her plump bottom lip, a smirk rising at one corner when she saw his eyes glance down to her mouth before meeting hers once again.

"Hmmm... I guess there's no harm in that." April mumbled against his mouth, her arms snaking around his shoulders and playing with the tails of his mask. "Besides, I waited more than a whole freaking year to have sex with you. What's a couple more days to wait?"

Raph smirked against her mouth, his lips puckering and pressing firmly against hers. Eagerly returning his affection, her hands resting along the back of his skull to deepen the kiss. Feeling more comfortable as their kisses continued, Raphael placed more weight upon her, his hands rising to cradle her head in his massive hands. A moment later, he reluctantly pulled away from her soft mouth in order to just take in the sight of her below him. Her wild red hair messily strewn across the pillow, the heavy-lid of her eyes and flush of her cheeks all accentuated by her slightly swollen, fervently kissed lips. His heart was pounding and his throat was dry as he continued taking in her beauty. He wanted her so badly, but he sadly knew it wasn't going to happen for awhile and he was gonna have to get used to it on a monthly basis.

"Don't know about you but it's gonna feel like a freaking lifetime." Raph grumbled, pressing his face into her silky tresses.

"You big baby, just shut up and kiss me." April muttered, grasping his face and placing her lips firmly over his to finally put that mouth of his to good use.


	4. Through Sickness and Health

Afterglow - Chapter 4

 **Rated: T**

 **Through Sickness and Health**

* * *

 _Chapter Summary: April's sick. Raph takes care of her. Need I say more?_

* * *

"AHHH-CHOOOO!" April sneezed loudly, sniveling miserably as she stuffed and blew her tender nose into the tissue.

She was _soooo_ fucking miserable.

April groaned, throwing the used tissue into the overflowing trash can near the couch she was resting on, before shivering deeper into the twenty blankets she was buried beneath.

This was hell on earth.

April was certain of it.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so ill that she was actually wishing for the comforting release of death.

 _Of course,_ her father would be out of town during her misery.

If she felt better, this of course would be the opportune time to have Raphael over to finally have sex considering their first and last time was nearly two weeks prior - because of course just days after making love for the first time she just **had** to get her period.

April was completely optimistic when it ended that she would finally get to call him over to do that glorious act again - that didn't happen. Instead, her dad showed up out of nowhere and said they'd postponed his meeting until next week, so those plans to call her terrapin boyfriend over for a nice weekend romp were completely shot.

The week had gone by pretty uneventfully but as soon as Friday approached, April was fully prepared to get everything in order for her and Raph to have the house to themselves. She stocked up on junk food he liked as well as a stack of DVD's - and caught up on some personal grooming he'd _better_ damn appreciate. After a full day, she was completely exhausted from the preparation and she fell asleep before her dad left to the airport that night. A couple hours later, April woke up to an empty house as well as the most debilitating sore throat and headache she'd ever experienced in her life.

As much as she'd looked forward and prepared for this and as much as she may want him to come over, there was no way in _hell_ she'd want Raph around when she looked like complete shit.

April **never** wanted him to see her this way.

Although desperately wanted to have sex with him again, she doubted she'd be able to even seduce him considering the copious amounts mucus and sweat pouring out of every single orifice wasn't at all considered attractive 'lover attributes.'

"Ugh..." April moaned while reaching for her tea, that had long since got cold, upon the coffee table. She closed her eyes against her scorching dry throat as she forcefully swallowed the honey infused tea, which she admitted did coat her throat nicely. Her bloodshot eyes groggily opened only to see the source of her recent thoughts standing near the couch, his bright green eyes looking into her bloodshot blue.

She did the only thing deathly ill people do when surprised/scared.

April flung her tea into the air before immediately began to hack up a lung.

Raphael didn't seem fazed by her reaction, instead, was by her side in seconds, patting her gingerly upon her heaving back.

"What the - ( _hack,hack)_ **hell** (c _ough)_ are you doing ( _extremely unattractive phlegm discharge_ ) here!?" April coughed out rather pathetically into her fuzzy fleece blanket.

"I just wanted to see ya. Got a little worried since you haven't been answering your phone and never stopped by since yer dad went outta town." Raphael replied, concern lacing his normally stoic face as he made himself comfortable next to her.

"Well, I'm just peachy!" April mumbled, trying to hide her face into the blanket to cover up the fact she really needed a tissue.

"You've always been a lousy liar, O'Neil." Raphael sneered, handing her a bright blue box of lotion tissues he'd taken off the coffee table. "Why didn't you tell me ya were sick? I woulda been here takin' care of ya."

"I didn't want you to." April answered nasally while slowly lowered the blanket to look her boyfriend in the eyes.

"Why the hell not?!" Raph growled, his brow ridges furrowing, making the edges of his worn red mask crinkle.

"Oh, God, Raph! _Look at me_!" April groaned, blowing her nose delicately into the lotion tissue when all she wanted to do was blow it like a foghorn. "I'm sick and absolutely _disgusting_! I didn't want you to have to see me like this!"

Raphael shocked April, gently grabbing her arms and resting them atop his lap. April flinched, his eyes obviously roving over every inch of her sweaty flushed face, her bloodshot eyes and bright red nose, which at this point, mostly resembled Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.

"You're so fuckin' beautiful..." Raphael whispered, lifting a hand to cup her cheek.

April froze, her eyes trailing over his face for any form of deception but found none. She felt tears build up in her eyes when he smiled at her, his thumb brushing along her flushed cheek.

"C'mon." Raph said after a moment of silence, standing to his feet. He lifted the blanket off her softly and motioned for her to lay down. She did what she was instructed and held her breath when he lay the blanket over her before lowering himself to his knees near the couch. He rested his elbows upon the soft leather and smiled at her, brushing a strand of sweat-soaked hair away from her forehead. "You need to rest... When you wake up, I'll make you some soup, alright?"

"Really?" April asked weakly.

"Yeah. Gotta take care of mah girl." he replied, leaning over and kissing her warm forehead with amazing tenderness.

"Okay... Raph?"

"Yeah?"

"...Just promise me one thing." April replied after he pulled away to look at her again.

"...and what is that?" Raph asked with a smile.

"Please don't break anything this time." She answered with heavily lidded eyes, a cheeky smile on her face, before falling into a deep NyQuil-induced slumber.

...April woke up a few hours later to a bowl of warm minestrone and Raph's cocky smirk.

"What did you do?" the redhead asked raspily, immediately fearing the worst.

"I didn't burn down yer apartment down if that's what yer wonderin'." Raph smiled, proffering a spoon of the soup to her mouth.

"What did you put in it?" she asked, her eyes wide and staring at the proffered soup to see if there were anything strange about the liquid.

"Aw, ya flatter me, O'Neil, but sadly, I didn't make it. Ya had a few cans in yer pantry." he replied, slightly alleviating April's worries of picturing Raph making homemade soup in her kitchen. "... Although, ya may need a new can opener. Yer lucky I brought my sais with me cause that thing ya call a can opener is piece of crap. Barely made a dent in it. Ooh! But I learned ya don't need a stove to cook soup! Ya can use the microwave!"

April smiled and shook her head, thanking her lucky stars that she didn't wake up to a smoldering crater that once had been her apartment. Looking down at the preoffered spoon in the terrapin's giant three-fingered hand brought a warmth to fill her chest that she hoped wasn't a sign of bronchitis.

Lifting her eyes to his, she knew it was more than that.

Instead of freaking out like a lot of guys would do at the first sign of sickness - he was here - taking care of her even if she didn't ask him to. He seemed to have no qualms about catching her cold or even seeming to care that she was the least attractive she'd ever been in her life in these moments. He touched her, kissed her and called her beautiful and meant every word...

"Thanks, Raph. For everything..." April whispered, reaching over to touch his shoulder, running her hand in gentle circles upon his deltoid.

"Yer welcome. Now, here comes the airplane!" the red-banded turtle said in a sing-song voice, bringing the spoon closer to her mouth.

Humoring him by opening her mouth while rolling her blue eyes by doing so, she quickly drained the bowl of its contents. Lying back on the couch after her stomach was pleasantly warm and full, she closed her eyes and listened as Raph washed her used dishes.

Returning back to the couch to make sure there were no more dishes, he noticed she'd again fallen asleep. Raphael smiled warmly at the sight. While she may not look her best right now, she was still easily the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Leaning down to adjust the blanket over her, he couldn't help but glance again at her peaceful face. Her cheeks weren't as red and placing the back of his hand against her forehead told him her fever was nearly gone. Smiling at that result, he lowered further sit gently upon the edge of the couch.

As he ran a gentle hand upon her side, he couldn't help but look upon her. Their time together thus far had changed him in ways he'd never know. If you told him two years ago that he'd be in a relationship with a human woman and taking care of her while she was sick, he would've punched them in the face and told 'em they were freaking nuts. But now...things had changed. He had changed and so had she. While their relationship was hard at times to even get to this point, he wouldn't have changed a thing about it. As of now, there was no where else he'd rather be than right here by her side even though he'd never say that mushy comment to her face.

Raphael leaned down , feeling the brush of her bangs against his face, as he kissed her smooth cheek. Pulling back, he chuckled hearing her sigh in her sleep before melting further into her pile of pillows and blankets. He stood to his feet, picking up the rest of the dirty dishes on the coffee table. After gathering the few ceramic cups in his hand, he looked back once more at her sleeping face before heading back to the kitchen to finish his task.


	5. Caught! (NSFW-ish)

**Caught!**

Rated: T-M

 _Summary: Raph and April are caught in a very compromising situation..._

* * *

 **I** **'m keeping the rating at T throughout this series simply because 80% of these drabbles will be T or lower. I will warn you when a possible M chapter rears about.**

 **This chapter in particular does** **have some adult sexual themes to it, but not graphic enough to warrant an M rating but still may be inappropriate to some, if you** **'re one of them, please don't continue reading. Other than that, enjoy.**

* * *

'Finally!' April thought excitedly as she took Raph's hand and quickly led the wide-eyed terrapin to her bedroom.

It'd been three weeks since they gave their virginity to one another and since then they couldn't seem to catch a break.

First, it was the general soreness of said losing of virginity because Raph's dick was, for lack of a better word, humongous. Secondly, once her soreness dissipated, her period was not too far behind. And thirdly, this whole charade was punctuated by catching a flu from hell. It was only fair that after going through _all_ of that, April damned well _earned_ to finally have sex for the second time with her reptilian boyfriend.

While both were still slightly nervous, April didn't want to wait anymore. Once both were seated upon the soft mattress, she reached up to cradle his face before leaning in to kiss him. Raphael was more than happy to respond to her eagerness and returned it with a vigor. It quickly transformed into wonderful, mind-blowing kissing with tongue and petting leaving both of them gasping for air for the brief moments they parted. Hands that once were so timid now groped and rubbed eagerly at each other's bodies in a lustful frenzy of lips, hands and mouths as they never even parted in order to lay down upon the cool sheets.

Clothes and padding were soon strewn messily into a pile on the floor, leaving both of them exposed to each other for the second time. Seeing one another in such a state warranted rolling around a couple times, the blankets now crumbled and messy, as both of the stubborn lovers fought for dominance. Well, to be honest, Raph just basically allowed it as April tried climbing on top of him only for him to roll them over and gave her a cocky smirk. April pouted at him and the red-banded terrapin just chuckled in amusement before leaning down over the redhead before proceeding to kiss her within an inch of her life.

Once fully naked, both were so hot and heavy at this point, they were lost to the world outside of each other and their rising lust and desire nearly burning them from the inside out as they began pleasuring each other in preparation for final consummation.

April lay flat on her back, legs spread as far as they could go. Raphael had just thoroughly prepped her with his tongue, lips, and thick fingers to hopefully make a smooth painless entrance. He crawled up her body, adjusted himself over her to carry out the deed...

April bit her lip, waiting eagerly to be penetrated by him again...

 _ **Finally**_ **...**

...when a sudden startled shrill was heard from the doorway...

Of course, they should have fully expected this...

It was bound to happen -

Sure, it would have been wonderful to never get caught having sex, especially at just their second time, but as like most events in life - things never turned out the way they were supposed to.

April didn't stop the screech that roared out of her throat before she grabbed and quickly threw the closest blanket over her naked body; Raph jumping off and ducking behind the bed as none other than Leonardo stood petrified in the doorway - his hand still raised in the knocking position from where the door had swung open.

April groaned, her face remained buried in her hands as she tried to qualm her heartbeat as well as the blush that spread to 99% of her body.

Raphael stood up, the sheet he had tied around his waist not camouflaging the raging erection in the least, as he marched straight up to Leo.

"What the hell, Leo!? Ever heard of fucking _calling_ first!? Are you completely insane!?" Raphael growled, standing on his tip-toes to meet his blue-banded brother eye-to-eye.

Leo remained motionless. His eyes wide and glazed as his jaw protruded down near the vicinity of his feet.

"LEO!" Raph growled again, his hand tightening around the sheet in a desperate attempt to hide his obvious boner.

Leo's eyes cleared up but the blush staining most of his face did not. The blue-banded turtle glanced over at an obviously embarrassed April before settling on the seething Raphael for just a moment before he took off toward the kitchen window and back out into the night.

All remained quiet since the slamming of the kitchen window signaling Leo's departure.

Raph continued standing near the door trying to understand exactly what had transpired.

April was cursing her very existence and the mantra of, "Oh God, why me?" wasn't far behind.

Spare it to say, they did not just start where they left off.

The traumatizing event shriveled Raph's erection and April's sex-drive had quickly evacuated the building.

The remainder of the night was pretending to watch a movie while April contemplated going on the lam rather than facing Leo again knowing the compromising position he witnessed her in - completely naked under his brother. 'Oh God, why me?' the earlier mantra came back with a vengeance as she buried her face in her hands in debilitating humiliation.

Raphael, on the other hand, spent his night thinking of ways to dismember his older brother to make it look like an accident. Those happy thoughts and murderous pondering soon fell to the wayside when April began cackling hysterically.

Raph believed the poor girl finally cracked.

He for one was not ready to look back on this and laugh for a good thirty years but seeing April obviously enjoying herself, Raph couldn't help but smirk at the sheer audacity of the whole situation. He allowed himself a chuckle and for the first time in probably forever, he began to look at the bright side. If he was to get caught having sex by one of his brothers, Leo probably was the best choice.

Let's face it.

Mikey would be forever traumatized and Raphael would _never_ forgive himself.

Donnie, in his passive-aggressive ways, would **never** let Raph live it down even if the purple-banded turtle was over April - Donnie had ways of never letting you forget your transgressions.

Leo on the other hand - Raph had good dirt on him involving Karai. That info he **knew** for sure would keep Leo off his back as well as not blab about his sexual activities to the world.

So, yeah, if it was to happen, Leo probably wasn't a bad choice.

Raphael didn't even entertain the idea of Splinter walking in, or heaven forbid, Kirby O'Neil seeing them in that compromising situation.

"Oh God, we need to put a lock on your door..." Raphael stated, his wide eyes turning to the redhead.

"Agreed." April agreed with a sigh, her laughter quickly subsiding picturing the exact same scenarios as her beloved boyfriend. "...but it can wait until tomorrow." she continued, grasping his hand and smiling softly at him. Raphael quickly returned the gesture, lifting his arm so she could comfortably curl up against his side.

"Sounds good." he replied, leaning down to give her a quick peck on the lips before both turned their attention back to the movie. As the evening continued, popcorn was made, tickle and pillow fights ensued once the feature on the screen wasn't enough to hold their attention. They made out a bit, but both agreed it probably wasn't the best idea to go ahead with the earlier plans of christening their relationship a second time. All things considered, it turned out to be a great night - even both of them weren't able to look Leo in the eye for the next month.


	6. Time for Seconds (NSFW)

**Afterglow**

 **Rated: M**

 _Chapter Summary: Second time... FINALLY!_

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 **As promised, I'm giving a fair warning! While I still am leaving this series at a T, there are going to be a couple M rated chapter and this happens to be one of them! If any of that is offensive to you, I suggest not venturing into this chapter any further! There are plenty of other chapters with no smut at all!**

 **Go enjoy those! :-)**

 **...If you're still here, I do hope you enjoy the second time around. ;-)**

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"Okay, so lemme get this straight. Your period is over."

"Yes."

"Kay - and you're completely sure that you're not sick anymore."

"Yes!"

"...what about your dad? Ya _positive_ he's outta town?"

"Oh my God, Raph! YES!" April said, her arms flailing above her head.

"What about the doors? Didja lock 'em? Don't want ol' Fearless gettin' a free peep show again..."

"Oh my God, Raph! If you really want to go ahead and push the fridge in front of the door to calm your nerves, I don't really care! Let's just hurry up and do this before I decide that I'd rather strangle you instead!"

"Wait...What about the windows?"

"Seriously?! Raph, I am simply asking you to have sex with me. So, either you get to it, or get out! I have way too much crap to do to wait for you to feel comfortable enough." April seethed, trying to maneuver herself from underneath his hulking form.

"April!" Raphael whined uncharacteristically, his lower lip in a dramatic pout.

"Ugh! What is wrong with you!?" April asked pushing feebly against his plastron which he made more difficult when he lowered himself heavier on top of her; her bare breasts flattening against his hard chest plates.

"I like giving you a hard time, ya know that." Raph replied, rubbing his snout along her nose.

"Yes, I know that. Why pray-tell, I have no idea."

"Yer super hot when yer mad. I thought we already established that." Raph replied with a smirk, kissing the side of her neck.

"Yeah, yeah... Just get to it. I have an exam paper to do..." April moaned, leaning her head back to further expose her neck to his tender administrations.

As Raphael busied himself with her neck and flicked a thumb against her hardened nipples, she used the hand that wasn't wrapped around his shoulders to pull down her underwear, shimmying out of the cotton garment and using her toe to fling it off the side of the bed. While nothing like their first time full of passion, longing, and sweet nothings whispered in each other's ear, it was still shaping up to be a pleasant evening. They gave their virginity to the other over three weeks ago and between her period, sickness, and just life as a college student and him as a ninja vigilante protecting the streets of New York in the cover of night, not to mention Leonardo walking in on them - suffice it to say, there was little time for romance and fore-play.

It didn't matter though.

They loved each other immensely and there would be nights where they could have three hours for sexual activities, tonight just wasn't one of them. Fall classes were coming to an end and her massive term paper was due at the end of the week. She was full on to finish it tonight, but writing a term paper on reproductive cycles for Biology while being extremely horny wasn't helping her at all. Instead, she decided to put the paper on hold and called Raphael over.

April would have paid handsomely to have a picture of Raphael when he kneeled outside her window that night. She wasn't exactly sure if it was because her hormones were in overdrive or what, but he was so... beautiful, even though she'd never say that to his face. His tattered mask billowing in the wind, his ethereal green eyes glowing in the dark outlines of buildings and bright lights of New York City and the full moon behind him as he perched sexily on her fire escape window...

Her panties had been soaked in seconds.

April suddenly felt the tip of his moist penis brushing sensually against her vulva lips, bringing her back to the current time.

"Ooh." she moaned pleasantly at the wonderful feeling.

"Ya need to stop spacing out, O'Neil. What were ya thinking about anyway?" Raph muttered a big roughly against her throat as he rubbed the tip of his penis on her swollen clit.

"You..." April breathed against his lips, her arms tightening around his neck. April met his shocked green eyes for a moment, the stirring of those earlier feeling coupled with the fact he was just one push from being inside her was nearly driving her wild with lust.

"Oh really?" he asked, the deep rasp of his voice reverberating throughout her chest and making her flesh tremble at the erotica of this moment.

"Yeah..." April muttered against his lips, her forehead pressed firmly against his own.

Suddenly tensing for a moment when she felt his fingers brush against her stomach for a moment, trailing down her body to eagerly cup her mound. She closed her eyes and sighed euphorically as he ran his fingers over her, spreading her wetness liberally over the area before he began rubbing quick circles on her clit.

"Your not ready yet..." Raphael growled against her face, his lips nipping at her sweaty throat. "Come for me, babe..."

"Mmm..." April groaned, his penis softly probing her vagina, the very tip of him teasing as he barely pushed in before pulling back out as his fingers continued their languid torture. "Ooh, yes..." her hands cradling the back of his neck, trying in vain to push him inside of her.

Sensing her upcoming orgasm upon her, Raphael sped up his fingers, running his thumb back and forth across her swollen bead, making her legs tremble from where they were rubbing against the outsides of his thighs. In an instant, she came apart, her soft mewl of pleasure bouncing off the walls of her bedroom. He removed his hand from her clit, pushing his large index inside of her and smirked at the gush of liquid he felt beginning to leak from her moist walls. He couldn't help but fuck her with a large finger a couple times, his penis throbbing painfully in anticipation of feeling that tight coil squeezing around the most intimate part of him.

"That's it... Ya ready?" Raphael asked, pulling his finger from her tight sheath with a wet pop before grabbing his penis to align himself with her body, brushing the moist tip up and down her pulsating cunt.

"Mm-hmm... Hurry..." April groaned, one of her hands strewn around his neck, grasping lightly at his nape, while the other was fisted in the sheets.

"So impatient..." he chuckled against her throat. A push of his hips and he was halfway inside of her, his penis stretching her vagina to the limits.

April tensed, the girth of him pushing her body to the brink. Three weeks was a long time to forget exactly just how _big_ he was.

"You okay?" Raph moaned against her throat when she immediately flinched at the sudden intrusion.

"Uh-huh... Keep going..." April grunted, her legs spreading wider to encourage the green-eyed terrapin to continue penetrating her body. He didn't need anymore encouragement, putting more weight upon his knees, pushing all the way up to the hilt, his lower plastron brushing against her pubis.

April suddenly tensed, throwing her arms above her head and putting the loose sheets in a death grip. Her toes curled against his carapace, the familiar pain of having his huge penis invade her body was nowhere near as painful as it was the first time, but it was still quite uncomfortable.

"Ya alright, April?" the concern lacing his voice making her heart flutter against her sternum.

"Just give me a second." April groaned, her hands uncurling from the sheets to perch around his neck again. She pulled him down atop of her, hugging him, her lips seeking his out.

Raphael flinched for only a millisecond before happily returning her sudden need to kiss and hold him close. He kissed her slowly and sweetly, making sure she was as comfortable as possible before he even attempted to further pillaging her small delicate body. He was still astonished that they were in fact compatible for sexual activity, her lithe form so dainty and petite compared to his heavy, hard frame. He knew better than to treat her like glass because as delicate as she seemed in comparison, this fiery redhead could literally take a pounding and her body was no different, able to take every thrust easily once she was warmed up shown by their first encounter. Raph knew it was no easy task for her at first though but she took it like a champ and with the first time out of the way, it would only get easier for her.

"Go ahead." April mumbled against his mouth, her hands cupping the base of his skull, before firmly pressing her lips over his once again.

Raph just smirked in response, pulling out just a couple inches before pushing back in slowly. His shallow thrusts were more for adjusting her vagina to his size to make her comfortable and to feel the most pleasure as possible. His hips rocking back and forth sensually, the wet squelching sounds her vagina made when he was entering and exiting her body make him churr in the back of his throat in complete ecstasy.

Raph knew he was doing something right when April suddenly broke the kiss, her arms unfurling from around his neck - a moan of "Oh God, yes..." leave her thoroughly kissed pink lips and grasping at the crumpled sheets.

A sudden hard thrust caused her to further lay back against the bed, throwing her hands upon his massive deltoids, fingernails making half-moon indentations in his thick flesh as he continued to piston in and out of her body at an incredible rate. Raphael wasn't sure if her clawing at his shoulders was out of pain or pleasure, so he slowed down exponentially to further gauge her reaction, only for April to scream "Don't you _dare_ fucking slow-ohh! Oh! Oh, YES!"

Raphael obeyed.

He smirked at her outburst before adjusting; hiking her legs higher upon his waist encouraging her legs to widen, before he resumed pounding her into the mattress. He felt her vagina pulsating and growing wetter around his thrusting cock; using every bit of stamina in his body not to come right then and there. It had been three weeks since they first had sex and he could easily say it felt even better than the first time. The awkwardness of the first time was gone and he was beginning to learn her body again - picking up her likes and dislikes relatively easy as they strove toward final ecstasy.

Raphael closed his eyes, focusing on bringing her to another orgasm before he allowed himself to finish. Putting his weight on his arms, which were positioned on either side of her head, he allowed his hips to thrust even faster.

The change in position was immediate. April let out a wail as he pounded into her body over and over again, his hips slapping rhythmically against her ass cheeks. The headboard was slamming into the wall with every thrust but neither of the lovers noticed it when the redhead let out a deep guttural moan as an intense orgasm shot through her body like wildfire.

"OH, GOD! RAPH!" she screamed, pulling the large terrapin on top of her, her arms wrapping tightly around his thick corded neck as her body shook with the pleasure coursing through her veins.

Raphael churred against her throat, his groin tightening as he emptied himself deep inside of her. "Aw, fuck... God, April... Oh..." Raph moaned into her sweaty throat, his arms trembling as he held the majority of his weight from crushing her lithe body.

They stayed motionless for awhile, gaining their bearings and breath back from the intensity of their coupling. Raph growled when he felt her tight vagina began pulsating around his sensitive, softening penis.

"Whataya doin' to me, O'Neil?" Raph groaned, shivering slightly and burying his face into her mess of sweaty red hair strewn across the pillow.

"Mmm... You feel so good..." April muttered back, hands grasping the back of his head as her lips busied themselves with kissing his rapid pulse point.

Raph pulled up a moment later, shuttering as his penis withdrew itself from her body to the confines of his shell. He tried to ignore her disappointed moan as it did so. April wasn't prepared for him to roll off of her just yet, refusing to release her arms from about his shoulders. Instead, she burrowed her face into his neck, licking and nipping his thick reptilian skin.

April shuddered, his deep reverberating growl against her head, making her body crave him again nearly instantly.

Green eyes were firmly clamped shut as April's thin fingers traced circles upon his nape. The tingling sensation echoing through his shell at the incredibly tender ministrations. The touch of her slightly slick skin, her bare feet pressing upon his calves, and heat of her gorgeous body becoming a drug. The craving of having her this way almost became unbearable as she pulled him down for a kiss. Pushing his tongue immediately into her hot cavern, he groped at her soft breasts, enjoying the easy give as well as the firmness of her flesh.

April broke the kiss for a moment, taking gasping breaths that brushed against his skin. Her small hands cradled his face, gazing deep into his bright green irises and kissing him again without breaking that visual contact. She smirked against his mouth when she felt a deep groan vibrate where his plastron was pressed against her chest.

"Think your up for round two, big guy?" April chuckled against his lips.

"Ready?! I'm almost done." Raph replied, rubbing his again descended erection against her flat stomach.

"Ooh." the redhead cooed, brushing her hips against his thick organ. "Didn't know turtles could recover so fast..."

"Well, then yer gonna love me during the spring time..." he muttered against her neck, but before she could ask any questions, he was pushing inside of her again.


	7. Shower Time

**Afterglow - Chapter 7**

 **Rated : T**

 _Chapter Summary: Raph and April learn the joys of showering together. Fluff ensues._

* * *

 **A little correction from last chapter - it was a midterm she was working on for Fall Semester. I didn** **'t want to bypass the Halloween themed chapter coming up with a error in the timeline. Sorry about that. :-) Happy reading, y'all.**

* * *

Languidly stretching across cool navy blue sheets as the heat from the sunlight filtering through the window dancing across her skin, April was certain there was no better way to start the morning.

Rolling over slightly to curl up next to her boyfriend, she realized she'd spoken too soon.

The contrasting warmth from the light and the coolness of his bare skin against the warm expanse of her own felt like paradise. It incited intimate memories from the night before...

Last night was wonderful.

April was certain when she woke up this morning after they proceeded to make love, not only once, but twice, she expected all hell to break loose between her legs much like the first time. To say the least, she was pleasantly surprised to find barely a hint of soreness when she rolled out of bed this morning. It made getting up at the crack of dawn to finish her paper before climbing back into warm sheets with her favorite terrapin much easier.

Taking a quick glance at the clock, she sadly realized that all good things must come to an end. The bright green blinking _10:30_ signaled that her class started in two hours and her father would be returning home soon.

Pursing pink lips, she gingerly traced the lightening shaped crack on his plastron. She'd always wanted to ask how he'd gotten the trademark crack, but never was certain if it would be something Raphael would willingly talk about. Blue eyes lifting to his serene face, April smiled, the rapturous feelings from the previous night rising to the surface as she leaned over and kissed his face. While it may be time to get up and get ready for the day, she sure as hell planned to make the most of it.

...Raphael instantly became aware of three things as he tried in vain to wake up.

First was the sun filtering through the room and upon his cold-blooded skin. Used to spending nearly your whole life underneath the ground in dank dark sewers to waking up in an apartment with the sun on your face was a moment you _never_ took for granted. While him and his brothers enjoyed the heat lamps Donatello created, the artificial light had nothing on reality. The sun's rays seeped into your body and warmed you in a way those flickering blue lights never could. Sadly, now that he had it, he was going to have a fucking hard time waking up anywhere else.

Second thing he'd noticed was the press of a warm body curled against his side. While him and April slept in the same bed regularly only months into their relationship, there was something about waking up with the person you made love to the night before. It was an intimate moment only lovers share and he still couldn't fuckin' believe how good it felt to be with her. Not only the sexual relationship, just the fact that this beautiful girl who could have anyone she wanted chose a hotheaded freaking mutant turtle. An involuntary rise of his lips brought upon the first awareness of the loss of the grasp of sleep.

Eyes flickering when the third sensation flooded his system. The press of her lips on him. That feathery soft mouth brushing so lovingly upon his thick reptilian skin brought him nearly to full consciousness. His eyes cracked open to witness his redheaded girlfriend kissing along his plastron, stroking thin fingers along the lightening shaped fissure.

"Morning." he grunted, running a hand along her bare shoulder, savoring the feel of smooth skin underneath his calloused digits.

"Hmm. Good morning." April asked, lifting her self up to press a sweet kiss upon his lips while resting her upper body upon his thick chest plates. "...How'd you sleep?"

"Like a freakin' baby." He chuckled, the vibration of that deep chested laugh making her skin prickle excitedly. "What about you?"

"Great... Best sleep I've had in a loooong time." April giggled, pressing her face in the concave of his throat.

"You're welcome." Raph replied only to get thwacked on his plastron.

"Such a cocky ass..." April laughed, running her nose along his pulse point.

"Yeah, _cocky_ sounds about right." Raph agreed cheekily, a devilish smirk tipping up the corners of his mouth while his hands busied themselves with re-learning her body strictly through touch.

"Ugh... What am I gonna go with you?"

"I dunno - I may have a few ideas..." he growled, cupping her ass, which to his disappointment was now covered with her bright pink pajama pants.

"Mmm..." April agreed, throwing her thin arms around his thickly corded neck. "You're so bad sometimes..."

"Hrn. I'll show you bad." he said, lifting her face up with a thick digit before eagerly kissing those soft pink lips. Encouraged by her soft moaning at his actions, roving over her body, silently planning to slip a hand over her ass and between her thighs.

All of a sudden, April pulled away.

Raph opened in eyes in pure confusion, the desire that began pulling in his groin swiftly disappeared as April grasped his hand and tried to encourage him to sit up.

 _What the hell?_ The only thought roaming through Raph's lust clouded mind.

"C'mon. Let's go shower." April said happily, quickly giving up on pulling up the nearly 400 pound terrapin before heading over to the adjoining bathroom instead.

Raph could do nothing but stare at the pretty redhead, who stood over in the bathroom doorway and looked back at him in anticipation. Suddenly and without warning, April pulled her thin camisole over her head and kicked off her pants, leaving her completely bare to his stunned, slack-jawed gaze. Swallowing the sudden lump clogging his throat, Raphael was sure his heart stopped dead in his heaving chest. Sure, he'd seen his girlfriend naked before, but never in this much natural light. Her skin was _glowing_ and every womanly curve contrasted beautifully with the dark shower curtain behind her. He was certain he was drooling but really couldn't care less at this point.

"Raph, I'm getting cold over here. Let's go. What are you waiting for?" April asked, placing dainty hands on her flared naked hips. Having to suppress a smile at his expression, eyes bulged and his pupils mere pinpricks, she sauntered over to the bed, where Raph had still yet to move, reaching over to grasp his hand again. "Come on, babe, I wanna see you all wet..." she chuckled, leaning over to kiss his flushed red cheek.

"...Wait. What?" He asked, suddenly aware of what she was asking him rather than her enticing view of her gorgeous naked body.

"We're showering. I need to get ready for class, but doesn't mean we don't have time to shower together first."

"April, how the hell am I supposed to fit in there? You do realize I'm a freaking huge mutant turtle, right?" Raph asked, finally pulling himself up to sit on the edge of the bed.

"No, I didn't notice, Raph..." April muttered sarcastically, pretty blue eyes rolling as she returned back to the bathroom leaving a stunned Raph to stare at her sparsely-freckled ass as she went. "Now, come on ya big lug. You'll fit. Listen, I have to go to class soon and you need to get your cute butt out of here before my dad comes back home. And I don't know about you, but I don't think you really wanna home to your three brothers and father smelling like sweat and sex, do you?"

That comment got the terrapin moving. Standing to his sluggish legs, he walked the distance over to her bathroom, scratching the back of his head as he went. He quickly scanned over the surface of her bathroom, realizing for perhaps the first time just how big he felt in it. While he showered at her place a few times, it was always alone and was even cramped then. He had no idea how in hell this was even going to work, but he couldn't say no when April looked at him like that.

"You alright over there, big guy?" April asked softly, bending over the tub to move some items to higher shelves so they could be in easy reach during their shower.

 _Oh, hell, yeah..._ Raph thought, nearly choking on his own spit when he took in her current positioning.

"Y-Yeah." he replied, clearing his throat before turning away from the enticing scene before he embarrassed himself.

"Come on! You're not thinking about backing out now, are you?" April said, carefully stepping in the tub before holding a hand out in encouragement for the green-eyed terrapin to join her.

With little hesitation, he stepped into the white porcelain tub, watching with a dry mouth as April brushed temptingly alongside him in order to close the curtain. He stumbled around awkwardly, figuring out the best way to position his massive feet in the narrow space without stepping on April's dainty toes. Once closed, April turned on the tap, instantly showering both of them with a spray of cleansing warm water. His view of April's back, consistently taking in every movement - soapy hands roaming lithe arms and fingers through drenched shoulder length sun-kissed red hair. His eyes followed every drip of water cascading down her pearly white skin; memorizing the constellations of cinnamon freckles speckled all over that gorgeous canvas.

"Wow. You're unusually quiet back there." April laughed, the airy sound prickling pleasantly through his plastron.

"Heh. Eh, just thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself now." April grinned, looking back and smiling him over her thin shoulder.

"Hardy Har-har. Very funny, O'Neil" Raph replied, not being able to contain the smirk creasing the edges of his lips.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and scrub my back?" she asked, handing him a bar of soap.

The corners of his mouth lifting in a devilish smirk, he closed the space between them. Placing large hands to cup those gorgeous naked hips, his plastron pressed firmly against her warm smooth back. He chuckled deep in his chest, head sliding easily against the curve of her shoulder to press against the side of her neck. "I don't know, April... What's in it for me?" Raph groaned, lips brushing sensually along her ear lobe.

"I'll be sure to return the favor." April replied, pressing deeper into his chest.

"Interesting offer, but frankly I don't think that'll be enough to warrant my masterful massage services."

"Hmm..." The pretty redhead gathered, tapping her index finger on her chin in mock thought, allowing her head to roll against his wide shoulder. "...How about... I wash _all_ of you?" she continued suddenly, turning her head to the side to kiss the corner of his mouth.

"Sounds pretty tempting." he replied, having to calm his breathing when he saw her biting her bottom lip and giving him a sexy smirk. "Alright. Ya drive a hard bargain, O'Neil, but ya broke me."

"Awesome. Shake on it?" she asked in a chipper tone, quickly turning the rest of the way around to shake his hand.

Raph just humored her by shaking it back.

April quickly spun back around, brushing her hair over to one shoulder to expose her back to his expert administrations. She mewled under his care, loving the feel of his calloused hands against her wet skin. After a few moments, he began exploring her body a bit more, testing the limits as his hands wrapped over her stomach, but was halted as he started to roam higher. Blue eyes met him over a freckled shoulder. He witnessed the apology in her eyes for stopping him but knew it was for the best because the longer he was in here with her, the more his self-control continued to waver.

The green-eyed terrapin gave her a tight smile, pulling his hands away and began scooping water to wash the soap from her skin.

 _Can't let the shower head have all the fun..._

"Thanks." April chuckled, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Now it's my turn!" she said, smiling cheekily before pulling out a huge bottle of pink body wash from the shelf.

"Oh, hell, no." he growled at the huge bottle of strawberry scented bodywash. Scowling menacingly at the demented character mocking him from the bright pink atrocity in April's small hands.

"Oh, hell, _YES_. Don't forget - we shook on it."

"...Seriously, April?"

"Aw, come on... What's so bad about smelling like me?"

"The fact that I'm a freakin' male!" he growled, his voice louder than he expected.

"Aww, Raph. _Please?_ I thought we had a deal." April said, eyes wide and doe like.

Staring her down hoping she'd break, he was sadly mistaken as her wide eyes and pout eventually made him give a terse nod in agreement. "Fine! But let's get this straight, O'Neil. You owe me BIG TIME... That is if I don't kill myself once my bros are through mocking me for the rest of eternity."

"Oh my gosh, you're so melodramatic, just turn around." April huffed.

Giving her once more longing look at her - hoping and praying she'd have mercy upon him, he turned around - knowing a ninja always kept their word no matter the consequences. He faced the back wall of the shower, looking at his distorted reflection facing him in the white tiles before closing his eyes and diving headfirst into his strawberry fate.

Smiling at his turned back, April deftly replaced the bottle wash with a green bottle from a lower mantle instead, opening it, before pouring a generous amount over the expanse of his shell. Using her hands to rove over his carapace in intrigue. This wasn't a part of her boyfriend that was much explored; I mean, it wasn't particularly sensitive and she mostly found herself perched atop of it to annoy him, but it wasn't as intimate as washing it. This was a completely new territory; she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to push more boundaries.

Trying to ignore the scent around him, Raphael concentrated on the feel of those tiny hands running up and down his carapace. He especially enjoyed the scrape of her fingernails along the scutes, which made a pleasant tingle inch his way up his spine. Raph took a cautionary sniff around him expecting an overdose of girly body soap. The steam from the hot water pouring over both of them dulled his senses, but strawberry was an easy one to pick up. As much as he loved the bright red fruit, he had a certain hate for it right now but knew it was better for April to dole out this punishment rather than face her wrath later on. He sniffed the air again, expecting to smell sickly sweet strawberry syrup to attack his senses, but instead, a fresh, clean earthy smell invaded his nostrils instead.

Confused why he didn't smell like the syrup caddy from a pancake house, Raph glanced over at her over the expanse of a thickly muscled shoulder. He watched as she ran her small soapy hands along the edges of his shell before meeting his eyes with a warm smile gracing her face.

"You didn't use the strawberry one?" Raph asked in astonishment, scanning her eyes for a motive of some kind.

"You don't trust me? Oh, Raphael - I wouldn't do that to you." she said by way of explanation, rubbing a sudsy dab of the Irish Spring body wash on his snout. "As fun as it may be, I prefer just getting under your shell sometimes."

"Now I feel like a total ass. I was preparing to put a rubber spider in your slippers." he grumbled, wiping the suds from his face.

"You wouldn't do that if you value your life." she said seriously, giving him a glare that would easily rival one of his own.

"I'll keep that in mind..." he chuckled nervously as she went back to her task at hand.

Squirting another glob of Irish Spring into her hand, April cheekily twirled her finger. Raph just rolled his eyes before turning around to face her. They remained quiet as the redhead soaped up his body, running thin fingers over the expanse of the body armor of his plastron and the more sensitive scales on his sides and between his legs. When she glided easily over to thickly muscled shoulders, her lips quirked up involuntarily at feeling those gorgeous muscles underneath her much smaller hands. She didn't much care if it was some girly fulfillment fantasy, she knew one of the first things that physically attracted her to him in particular at first was seeing all this gorgeous musculature in action. While his brothers were also quite built, they didn't hold a candle to Raphael. His shoulders, biceps, thighs... She swore she nearly swooned. Not being able to help herself, once the soap as washed away, she gave the rock-hard arm a squeeze loving how there was no give to the thick corded muscle.

Placing her hands on each of his shoulders, she leaned forward to kiss him. Squealing when he grasped her tightly, closing up the space between them. He returned her kiss with vigor. The slightly cooling water hitting their bodies not quenching their desire in the least. April pulled away quickly, placing her fingers over his lips.

"Sorry. As much as I want to, I gotta take a raincheck."

"Tease." he grumbled, his tongue flicking her retreating fingers.

"You're so cute when you get all huffy." April giggled, grabbing a bottle of shampoo before proceeding to wash her hair. As she worked the suds into her hair, two more much larger hands joined her. She met Raphael's eyes, removing her own hands and allowing him to wash her hair. "Having fun?"

"You're hair's much funner to play with when it's dry."

"So picky..." April replied, poking him on his plastron. She grabbed the bar of soap to finish washing herself while Raphael continued massaging the soap into her scalp. Washing the residual soap from her body, she pulled away from his hands to get more fully underneath the shower head, before washing the shampoo from her hair. "Alright, I'm all done. Want me to leave so you can fully wash yourself?"

"Nah. I'm good. If my free peep show is over, I might as well get out too." he replied with a smirk and a shrug.

"You're such a perv." she giggled, turning off the faucet as he opened the curtain. Once both were dry and April was getting dressed, both teenagers jumped when Kirby's voice suddenly rung out from the other room.

"April! I'm back early! You here?" Mr. O'Neil asked from outside her locked door.

"Yeah, dad! I just got out of the shower and was getting ready for school! How was your trip?" she replied quickly, expertly keeping the rising panic out of her voice.

While April and her dad conversed through the doorway, Raph was silently thanking God for the insight to put all of his equipment in April's room the night before. He didn't even want to think about the awkward conversation of having to retrieve all of his padding, weapons and belt from the living room. With only the quiet and stealth of a ninja could, he gathered his belongings, put them on and was headed toward her bedroom window. There wasn't a fire escape but he could manage.

Before he could jump, he felt a warm hand on the middle of his shell. He turned around only to have April grasp his face and kiss him within an inch of his life. The shock almost sent him tumbling out the window if he didn't have such a good grasp of the side panels. She pulled away only to feel the familiar weight of the mask tied back on his face.

"Oops. Thanks." he whispered.

"See you later?" April asked, smoothing her palm over his cheek.

"Count on it." he replied with a tilt of his head, leaning forward to kiss her once more, before disappearing out of the window.


	8. Sprain and Frustration

**Afterglow**

 **Sprain and Frustration**

 **Rated: T**

 _Summary: April learns Raph is a brilliant masseuse. Frisky behavior ensues._

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 **Just an fyi, ya'll. I'm not going to be updating next week since I will be celebrating my birthday in the fabulous Las Vegas, NV! Look forward to the Halloween chapter in two weeks! xoxo** _  
_

* * *

" **OUCH!** _Not so hard_!"

"Hey, I told you to take it easy in training - but did you listen to me? Nooooo. ' _I can do it, Raphael! I'm almost a full blown kunoichi! I can take it!_ ' you said." Raphael stated, making sure to imitate her speaking parts in the highest octave he could get his voice to go.

"I just wanted to get that kata right and you just had to be a big stud and show off when - OUCH!" April squealed when Raph's hand brushed along a tender spot on her back.

"See? You didn't listen to me, now you're hurt. I told you I wasn't going to go easy on you, so did you learn your lesson? No. So, you gonna be a big girl and listen to me next time?"

"Since when have I ever listened to you?" April sneered, her comment muffled by the pillow she burrowed her face into.

"Well, I suggest you start before you really hurt yourself and you end up stuck to a wheelchair because of sheer stubbornness, O' Neil. You're lucky too. You could have really strained a muscle in your back." Raph replied, shaking his head slightly in annoyance, his large hands running along her naked back, starting at her shoulder blades down to her hips than back again.

If it didn't hurt so badly, April would have outright laughed at her predicament -

Completely topless and laying flat on the hard floor of Raphael's room.

Sure, it seemed like a good idea at the time to go train with him at the dojo just to get some one-on-one training done. All was going well until his brother's showed up and Raph began showing off. Probably some leftover turtle instinct to prove he was the strongest in the room when his girlfriend was present. To make a long story short, she pushed herself harder than usual to keep up with him and ended up slamming her back on the unforgiving floor; which was the reason why she was now currently in this position - Raphael seated on her ass and examining her like a skilled chiropractor as she lay upon his cold bedroom floor, bare from the waist up.

"Feels like just a little muscle strain. You may have some muscle spasms later but nothing a heating pad won't help." Raphael diagnosed.

"Thank you, Dr. Hamoto. Will I ever be able to do ballet again?"

"I wouldn't suggest it even if you weren't hurt at all. Sorry to tell you this, but your dancing skills are amateur at best, O'Neil."

"Amateur? Oh, so you're judging my dancing now?"

"Hey, I call it like I see it." Raph chuckled and shrugged. Silently glad she was feeling well enough to have some good quality banter back and forth.

"Hmph. I'll be talking to my lawyer about suing you for malpractice by you ruthlessly crushing my dreams of doing Swan Lake on Broadway."

"Ooh, Broadway? Your singing is another thing. You sound like Ice Cream Kitty getting run over by a truck."

"Who are you now? Simon Cowell?"

"Your singing is frankly rubbish, my dear." Raph replied in a horrible mock British accent.

April couldn't help but start laughing at his attempt, completely forgetting for a moment it was excruciating to do so.

"Ow, ow, ow..." April said as her laughter slowly died down.

"See what ya get when you laugh at your boyfriend who's only trying to save you from the humiliation from the harsh critics?" Raph chuckled, applying warm gentle pressure on her lower back.

" _Ooh..._ " April said suddenly, his palm pressing firmly against the middle of her back, making a pleasant spark shoot up her spine. "Oh...That feels _so good..._ "

Raph smirked at her comment, running his hands over the expanse of her warm soft skin. Using his massage skills he'd learned over many years on the battlefield and dealing with every wound and muscle sprain or pull; imaginable; he masterfully kneaded the muscles in her back with sure presses of his palm and fingertips. Within moments, April was pretty much putty in his hands. Every stroke had her nearly mewling in delight and Raph couldn't stop the cocky smirk that was permanently etched onto his face. The sounds she was making even had him glancing to his door to make sure it was locked. Last thing he wanted was another one of them walking in to see if everything was okay - considering his girlfriend was topless and all.

"Ooh... Why didn't you tell me you were so amazing at backrubs?" April mumbled, not even realizing she was drooling into the pillow.

"Gotta keep some secrets from my girl." Raph replied, lowering himself gently over her, his mouth near the nape of her neck.

"Mmm... You're lucky I'm letting you live. Do you know how much I need backrubs in my life?"

"Well, it's your lucky day, sweetheart." Raph breathed hotly against her neck, his hands still continuing their wonderful adventure over her skin. "The only payment I require is a lap dance and some sex."

"Lap dance? Seriously? What happened to my ' _amateur dancing skills'_ comment?" April growled sleepily into the pillow underneath her head, kinda confused how he ever heard of that but curiosity won over any anger that may have been there.

"When you're clothes come off, the the last thing my mind is gonna be how awful of a dancer you are." he chuckled.

April moved her head quizzically to the side and stared at him through heavily lidded eyes. "What the hell do you think a lap dance is, Raph? It's a dance. I perform on your lap."

"Naked, right?"

"In your dreams, Raphael..." April chuckled into the pillow, quietly reminding herself to call up a certain masked vigilant and grill him on some conversations he'd been having with Raphael lately. Raph would never give up details of their personal life to even his closest friend, but it didn't mean Casey could go on talking about other things. Especially Raph would be none the wiser and just take his words at face value. _Oh, that Jones..._ Or she could just be panicking when all he did was watch one of those rated R movies that they sometimes rented ' _on accident'_ occasionally. Those gratuitous sex scenes and any human interaction were always unrealistic. It was most likely the latter that gave him that ideal idea of what a lap dance was.

"Oh really? Nah. Forget the lap dance. Some sex should cut it." his voice broke through her clouded thoughts.

"Hmm. Well, I guess that doesn't sound _too_ terrible." April mumbled into the pillow, the frustration melting away under his skilled hands.

"Ooh - _score_! But, of course we'll have to wait til you're one-hundred percent healed. If we went right ahead and did it now, it would be like having sex with a ninety year old lady, and I'd rather wait seventy years for that to happen." Raph chuckled deeply, leaning down to kiss the spot right between her shoulder blades.

"Oh, God, don't ruin the mood, Raph..." April groaned, trying her damnedest to get those images he conjured up out of her head.

"Sorry. Heh." he replied, his hot breath ghosting over her skin. "Do I at least get a kiss for all my hard work?"

"Five more minutes than we'll see." April grumbled, not caring in the least when she began dribbling on the pillow.

"Tease." he grumbled halfheartedly, continuing his tender ministrations upon her throbbing spine. He was actually just messing with her about the whole thing, knowing sex in the lair was probably the stupidest idea considering his three brothers and super-sonic hearing father around. It didn't mean he couldn't do other things though. Smirking softly to himself, he leaned down and began kissing her shoulder blades as his thumbs rubbed deep circles upon her lower back.

"Mmmm... _Oh yesssss... Right there... oh..._ " April groaned into the pillow, muffling the erotic sounding noise.

"Hmph. Looks like your five minutes are up. So, did I earn my kiss now or do I just have to collect my _other_ payment?" Raph growled against her skin, lips softly nipping and teasing her flesh.

"Oh, fine... I guess you deserve something even if this was all your fault in the first place." April acquiesced with light ribbing in her voice.. She turned her head to the side to find Raphael leaning over her shoulder. Lips pressed quickly against hers, the firm pressure of that cool mouth making her toes curl in the confines of her shoes. Ever since her dad had showed back up, the two weren't able to get much time alone and sex was impossible. Now alone for the first time in what seemed like years; feeling his body so close and craving him so badly didn't make it any easier to stop where this was ultimately heading very quickly.

The position was soon changed, April rolling over to only resume the kissing. Arms strewn across his shoulders and his weight feeling warm and pleasant on top of her sexually frustrated body. She was about to say, ' _fuck it'_ and seeing if he'd be interested in collecting his payment right on the floor - only for a slamming door from outside the room had Raphael pulling away.

"MIKEY!" the sound of Donatello's screams and the youngest turtle's laughter chiming out across the lair had the two grudgingly pulling away from each other.

"Ugh... Are we ever gonna be alone again? When's your dad leaving out of town?" Raph groaned, rubbing his snout along her throat before slowly lifting himself up from off of her.

"... I don't know. He's on vacation time now." April grumbled, reluctantly sitting up, reaching for, and putting back on her bra. "If we don't get to do it soon though, I'm gonna jump your bones in an dark alley, you know that, right?"

"Lookin' forward to it." he chuckled, pulling away the shirt she just picked up.

"Hey! Give me that!" she giggled, standing to her feet as he made his way to the bed.

"Oh, I don't know, O'Neil. Might look pretty good on me." he said, putting it in front of him, the scrap of cloth over his wide frame made April laugh out loud.

"Totally, Raphael. It's all the rage in Mutant Turtle Fashion Weekly."

"Awesome. Let me try it on. Kinda like seeing you running around in just your bra anyway."

Panicked blue eyes widened at his statement, rushing the bed where he was standing. He fell on his back onto the mattress and she ended up sitting on his lap, grasping at her thin t-shirt but was met with air instead. A sudden pain in her lower back caused her to fall forward against his plastron.

"Oww..." she mumbled into his neck.

"Oops. Sorry, babe. Here." he said, eyes wide and laced with concern as he quickly handed her back the shirt.

"Gotcha!" she said smugly, quickly sitting up and grabbing the shirt away from his surprised grasp. In truth, her back screamed at her, but she wouldn't let him know that. She quickly leaned down to kiss his snout after placing her shirt back on, but to her surprise, he moved his head up, meeting her lips instead. Earlier arousal only came back with sheer intensity with their realization of their position on his bed. Falling heavier over his frame, she kissed him back, hands cradling his head and neck.

"MIKEY! What did you DO!?" Leo's voice suddenly rung out, making the redhead and green-eyed terrapin cringe at the anger held in that normally stoic voice.

"Crap..." April pouted as she sat up and quickly rolled off of him. Raph just sighed before sitting on the edge of the bed, cracking his neck and standing to his feet.

"Yikes. Well, I guess we have no choice but to make sure Mikey lives til' tomorrow. Kinda like having that little shit around sometimes." Raph shrugged, making his way to the door. He looked back at April, who gave him a tight smile as she closed the distance between them.

Raph opened the door to nothing but mass chaos. He felt April deflate next to him upon seeing the mess made in the lair.

"Oh, God..." April groaned.

"Welcome to the Hamato Household, O'Neil." Raphael sighed.

As April took in the scene in front of her, she tried her damnedest not to pathetically sigh at the mess of the lair. There was papers **everywhere**. The youngest turtle rolling around in them like piles of autumn leaves as the genius terrapin tried in vain to pick them all up and put them in the order they were in. Leo was somewhere on the outskirts of the scene, seething at the mess in front of him. Raph was just taking it at face value - not really caring how it all started but his own fists itching to beat some sense into his youngest brother but knew it would probably cause more harm than good. Green eyes slightly widened when the next words fell from his girlfriend's lips.

"We really need to get our own place..."


	9. Happy Halloween!

**Afterglow**

 **Rated: T**

 **Happy Halloween!**

 _Chapter Summary: It_ _'s Halloween at the Hamato Residence!_

* * *

 **Enjoy an extra long chapter. I have no idea how or why this chapter got away from me but it was a lot of fun to write regardless. Have a fun and safe Halloween, y'all! xoxo**

* * *

"Ugh. I swear, sometimes you're worse than Mikey, O'Neil." Raphael grumbled, placing more packages of candy into a bright orange tote bag.

"Raphael, you're such a party-pooper! It's Halloween for cripes sake! Lighten up!" April replied cheekily, a bright toothy smile lighting up her face as she closed the tupperware filled to the brim with Halloween themed cookies.

"I still don't get it." the green-eyed terrapin grumbled more to himself than anyone else.

In reply, all he heard was an overly dramatic sigh leave his pretty girlfriend's lips. He stole a glance as she continued packing away the cookies she'd been working on the better part of the morning on while he was left to entertain her father. He was perfectly fine with the kind middle-aged man, but sitting down with his girlfriend's dad and watching boring science programming was hardly summed up as an afternoon of excitement. During said programming, Raphael's palms were profusely sweating in anticipation for the man to change the topic of fair-weather conversation to his activities and intentions regarding his daughter. Thankfully, that awkward discussion never came up even up until the time came when Mr. O'Neil left for his company's Halloween convention across town.

"Raphael, it's Halloween. We can't spend it here alone." April sighed, placing the cookie-filled tupperware into a plastic sack.

"I'm just saying, this is probably the only night we'll be alone for _weeks_! Instead, we'll be spending it with my dad and brothers... Ya know, since yer dad went to a party, we could stay here and put that skin-tight Cat Woman suit you bought to a much _funner_ use." Raph grumbled, putting the filled tote bags to the side before walking up behind her to rub his snout against her neck.

"You're disgusting." April said, not bothering to camouflage the laughter escaping her lips at his actions.

"Yeah, you'll be Cat Woman, I'll be Batman... We'll pretend I just saved your ass from the 'll be extremely thankful for me saving your life that you can't seem to control your overwhelming sexual urges toward the studly mutant turtle wearing a Batman costume... Oh, yeah, that'll be hot as fuck." Raph growled, reaching down to pinch her ass, only to get thwacked on his plastron when she quickly turned around to face him.

"You're sick. Seek help." April tried to discipline him but couldn't deny how temping his offer was - those images conjured in her head not helping matters by how quickly her cheeks flushed and how she subconsciously bit her lip.

"Ooh, even better! Dr. April, I need your help! My girlfriend is so horny all the time I don't know what to do..." he mumbled, kissing her neck. "She's wearing me out, I'm worried my dick might fall off."

"Don't even _joke_ about that." April laughed, nipping at the thick corded muscles of his shoulders. Truthfully, she was incredibly horny but since her dad got a long vacation off from work, leaving them both completely sexually frustrated as of late. She couldn't deny the fact that she wanted him so bad that she physically _ached_ for him. The soft yelp that left her lips involuntarily was ignored when he picked her up to sit on the counter, placing himself right between her parted legs. It didn't take long until April couldn't help but kiss that adorable smirk right off his face; cradling his head in her hands as she pressed her lips firmly over his.

Raph smirked against her mouth, hoping she'd forget all about the party in favor of just staying in and -

Those musings were rudely interrupted by an overly annoying ring-tone that could only signify the youngest brother's call.

April laughed loudly at the frustration etched over every inch of her boyfriend's adorable face as he fumbled his leather pouch for his shrilling T-Phone.

"Dammit, Mikey, _what?_!" Raph growled into the receiver once he managed to press the right button.

"Dude!" Mikey replied, no one mistaking the pout and big baby blue eyes accompanying his voice on the other end of the line. "You promised you'd be here at 5 o'clock _SHARP_! It's already 5:0 **3**!" the youngest brother pouted, using every ounce of his ' _adorable younger brother'_ wiles to get his way even if every fiber in Raph's being would rather strangle the lil' goober right now.

"Fine. We're on our way." Raph grumbled, hanging up the phone before Mikey had a chance to respond.

"We're going?" April asked, happily swinging her legs from her perch on the counter.

"We're going." He acquiesced, angrily placing his phone back in his leather pouch.

* * *

"Mikey, I hate to break it to you, but like every other year, there's not going to be any kids coming to knock on the manhole cover...So, why is it that every year, do you still insist on making all of your treat bags? They're just going to end up going to waste." Donnie commented from his position on the kitchen bar stool where he was fiddling halfheartedly with a mutagen tracker.

"Dude! Seriously, you need to get out of your lab once in awhile. It's Halloween! Halloween is the one time a year Splinter lets me make excessive amounts of sugary goodies! Also, concerning my treat bags, I don't see _you_ turning them down - not only that, I found a few of them missing last Halloween and suspiciously found the wrappers when I was cleaning our your lab's garbage can..." the youngest turtle admonished his older brother with an accusing finger.

" _What_!? That wasn't me! It must have been Leo, you know he..." Donatello mumbled before realizing how futile that lie was as he tried in vain to hide the flush in his cheeks at his brother's truthful insinuation. It was quite unsuccessful as Mikey gave him a smile and the devilish look in his baby blue eyes told him that the youngest turtle saw right through his lies. His musing and near confession was thankfully interrupted when he heard shuffling from the lair's entrance; turning his head only for the sight of April and Raphael entering through the turnstiles filled his vision.

Donatello would be lying if he said he wasn't still too keen on seeing his red-banded brother and his former crush walking hand in hand. Donnie pursed his lips slightly at the scene of the two lovebirds talking back and forth seemingly in a world of their own as they made their way through the living room toward the kitchen. In the back of his mind, he berated himself for thinking such thoughts.

Truthfully, he was pretty much over it.

Donnie would describe it much like a phantom pain that still popped up every now and again when he saw their obvious love for each other through their googly eyes and barely concealed affection. Donatello knew he should be thanking them that they were very a private couple and any public displays of affection were rare, which was considerate of them concluded by the fact the two had in fact been together for over a year and a half already.

"Hey!" April said cheerily from across the room, letting go of Raph's hand in order to wave at the two turtles in the kitchen - the other arm occupied with a huge bag attached at the wrist.

" _APRIL!_ " Mikey shrilled, throwing the wooden spoon back on the stove with a loud _clunk_ before running at breakneck speed toward the redhead. Smashing into her only to twirl her around and give her a massive bear-hug.

" **MIKEY!** " April said happily, returning Mikey's enthusiastic hug much to Raph's annoyance when April's flailing leg nailed him in the plastron.

"Hey, numbskull. Let me get out of the way before ya go twirling her around next time." Raph growled, walking toward the kitchen.

"It's your fault you keep hogging April to yourself! She needs a proper Michelangelo greeting!" Mikey growled, hugging April tighter against his plastron.

"Yeah, Raph! Mikey gives the _best_ hugs! He could teach you a thing or two!" April prodded, making sure to wink at the red-banded turtle before turning her attention back to who she referred to as her own little brother.

Raph just rolled his eyes as he continued the distance into the brightly lit kitchen.

"Oh, hey, Donnie. What's up?" Raphael asked once he noticed the genius terrapin fiddling away at the kitchen island.

"Nothing too productive I'm afraid, Raph. I'm just keeping myself occupied by building another mutagen tracker since Mikey broke the previous one." Donnie replied, still not looking up at his older brother. The genius terrapin's hands worked steadily with the red and blue wires poking from the device.

"Cool... So, um - think you'll get enough mutagen to help Karai eventually change back to normal?" Raph asked, the obvious interest in his voice making Donatello curious enough to look up at him and quirk an eyebrow ridge.

"Not sure. Hopefully, but all we can do is try. We should find out soon enough."

"Hmm... That's good..." the red-banded terrapin muttered, placing the bag he'd carried into the lair upon the counter before reaching into the fridge to pull out a soda. "...So, where's ol' Fearless? Sprucing up his last minute Space Heroes costume from last year?"

"Probably. He asked me to help him find some sturdy cardboard rather than the construction paper from last years model." Donnie chuckled, his gap-toothed smile forming easily.

"Oooh, Mikey! You're making your famous vampire-bat brownies?!" April shrilled suddenly behind a glowing Michelangelo, breaking the quietness of the kitchen. The redhead eagerly grabbed one of the bat shaped brownies decorated with candy corn teeth and RedHot candy eyes.

"You know it, girl! They go along perfectly with my _G-G-Ghoooost Gummies_!" Mikey replied, enthusiastically waving his fingers in a phantom expression toward the tray with homemade gummies shaped like happy chubby ghosts.

"Those look amazing, Mikey! You've really outdone yourself this year! Oh, hey, Donnie! What are you dressing up for this Halloween? I _loved_ your Einstein get-up from last year!" April said excitedly, placing more bags upon the counter.

"Nah. We're all nearing 19 years old. Don't you think we're a little too old for this?" Donnie chuckled nervously.

"I second that." Raph said between sips of the cold soda.

"Raph. You're going to have fun, like it or not." April said, giving her boyfriend a ' _don't fuck with me'_ look before turning back to Donatello. "Oh, come on, Donnie! It'll be so much _fun_! It's not like we're going trick-or-treating topside - we're just dressing up to have a good time! You know, wear costumes, dance to lame Halloween soundtracks, watch a horror movie marathon, and eat goodies til we puke our guts out."

"AWESOME!" Mikey yelled enthusiastically, pumping excited fists into the air, nearly socking his red-banded brother in the face.

"So, what do you say, Donnie?" April continued, big sky blue eyes staring down the purple-banded turtle.

"Um... I dunno..."

" _C'MON,_ Donnie! You need to get some air, brah! You've been doing nothing but piddling in your lab for weeks! You need to get out and live a little! Come on! **PLEASE!?** " Mikey pleaded, using his big baby blue eyes and pouting lip to his every advantage.

"Uh-oh, he's using his Bambi eyes, Donnie. You're toast." Raph chuckled, leaning across the counter to grab a brownie along the two sets of big blue eyes and freckles staring down the brown-eyed turtle.

"Fine. But I need to get some coding done first. Give me thirty." the genius turtle grumbled in admission, jumping off the stool to head to his lab.

"YAYYYY! I need to go finish my costume! C'mon, April! Mikey-nard the Barbarian needs your help!" Mikey screamed happily before heading over to his room in a full sprint.

"Oh, Raph, this is going to be so much fun!" April giggled, pecking her boyfriend on the lips before following after Michelangelo.

"God, what have I gotten myself into?" the red-banded turtle groaned, plopping himself in a stool before reaching for yet another brownie. "Aw, hell, at least it's only once a year..."

* * *

An hour later, it was full on pandemonium in the Hamato Household.

Mikey had gotten a hold of black and orange streamers, propping them up around the lair under the watchful eye of Leonardo and Raphael who still weren't sure about the whole deal.

Splinter had gone off for the evening rather than being subjected to the loud music and screaming caused by jumpscares from the horror movies they'd be watching well into the wee dawn hours. All of that punctuated by six teenagers all hopped up on way too much sugar and adrenaline made leaving the lair in favor of spending some time at Leatherhead's lab much easier.

After all, there was only so much a middle-aged rat could take...

"Who ever thought this was a good idea?" Raph groaned from his spot on the kitchen stool where he still had yet to leave from.

"I don't know. At least it keeps Mikey occupied for a little while." Leo replied with a shrug, adjusting the painted cardboard that made up his Space Heroes costume. The leader stole a quick peek at his immediate younger brother. Ever since that awkward night of walking in on him and Apri's, let's say, _intimate_ , moment, their relationship had been a little weird but they had no choice but to put it behind them. After all, it had been over a month since said incident, and it was nice to see his brother regardless. Ever since his hotheaded brother and April had been together, the red-banded brother was not present as much as any of them would like. He'd still train and attend patrol almost daily, but seeing him outside of those instances was a nice change even if it was only for tonight.

"So... Where's April?" Leo asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had been occurring far too much during this conversation.

"She's helping Donnie put together a costume." Raph replied in a bored tone, reaching for what had to be his tenth brownie tonight. Leo wanted to say something reprimanding his consumption of too many sweets before dinner, but he reminded himself he was already treading on thin ice with his hot-headed brother. The last thing he wanted was to give Raphael more fuel for the fire.

"So um...h-how are you two doing?" Leo asked, appearing nonchalant as possible, helping himself to a single decorated brownie.

"Pretty good." Raph replied, seemingly uncaring or even noticing the nervousness emitting from his older brother in waves.

"Good." Leo said with a genuine smile. "You both seem really happy."

"We are."

"Great...Er...Um... Ya know, Raph...It's - It's really nice to see you." Leo said suddenly, wiping non-existent crumbs from the corners of his mouth.

Raph finally peered over at the blue-banded turtle, his eyes questioning any motive that could be found by peering at his older brother's face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

 _Dammit,_ Leo muttered inwardly, being sure to take a deep breath and swallow before answering. "We just don't see you much anymore. I mean, you know, you're basically living at April's place. You only come over to train, eat, occasionally sleep, and go on patrol - _which is fine_ \- it's just - ya know..."

"So, you're keeping tabs on me all of a sudden?" Raph growled, tossing down a half-eaten brownie back on the once clean counter-top.

"Raph! I'm just saying it would be nice to see you outside of training every once in awhile! I mean, gosh, we hardly even see April anymore and whether you like it or not, we're still your family and I don't know, it feels like you're avoiding us!"

"I have a life outside of this family now, Leo. April's my family too, or have you forgotten that? We're together and we do like to spend a lot of time with each other. You're acting as if I'm never here, yet I'm home almost every single day! When you call, I answer and most of the time, always come back home when asked or needed- what more do you _want_ from me?"

"I don't know - Mikey's more of a loner than ever, Master Splinter asks about you all the time, Donnie's stuck in his lab constantly! I'm just - uh - _I just want my brother back_!" Leo shouted before he even realized the words left his lips. Immediately, his mouth closed and he stared in utter disbelief at his brother - not wanting to believe those telling words left his lips.

Leo was never more thankful to see the female redhead approaching. He didn't bother hiding a smile as April stood behind Raphael and easily slipped on a Batman mask upon his face. Leo took notice of how Raph didn't even flinch at her contact in the least; instead, the red-banded terrapin turned a bit in the stool to wrap an arm around April's small waist. All the tension that was seeping into his younger brother's muscles just melted away at her contact. For all of half a minute, he felt like the biggest third wheel in history as he watched them together. Raph smiled easily at the girl as she adjusted the mask upon his face. There was such a visceral chemistry between the two, he couldn't believe he'd missed it before they made it official.

The moment ended before he had time to realize what was happening.

"Hey, Leo, awesome costume! Much improved since last years model!" April said excitedly, leaning over the counter to reach into one of the bags she'd brought.

"Thanks." Leo smiled at the redhead.

"So... What's going on?" she asked, removing Raphael's attention from his girlfriend back to his older brother.

"Nothing." Leo answered her with a chuckle, drawing his eyes back to Mikey who was hanging from some piping on their tall ceilings. "MIKEY! Get down from there!" he continued frantically, running out into the living room before his youngest brother became a green pancake on the cement floor.

"Hey, Raph. Is everything okay?" April asked softly once Leo had vacated the kitchen.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, of course." Green eyes finally looked back at her and an involuntary smirk raised his lips even though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. April noticed his continence was guarded - a look she hadn't seen on her boyfriend for quite some time. Whatever they were talking about wasn't just _'nothing'_ like Leo had said. She opened her mouth to try and interrogate him for some more details, but it was interrupted once again.

"The party can now start! The main attraction has ARRIVED!" Came the screech of the one and thankfully, only, Casey Jones into the lair.

"CASEY!" Mikey immediately left his perch to greet his other human companion, catching the vigilante off guard and knocked him to the floor.

"Ugh! Can't breath!" the roguish human groaned from the weight of the orange-banded turtle on top of his lungs.

April was about to ask Raph more about his conversation with Leo when she suddenly realized he wasn't sitting next to her anymore. She lifted her head and saw as Raph helping Casey up and the two began immediately exchanging playful blows back and forth like the two best friends tended to do. Rolling her eyes at their childish antics, she sighed before going back to unloading the candy she'd brought into large bowls.

* * *

"You're _so_ lucky, dude." Casey commented.

"Fuck, Casey! Get yer bony ass off the counter. I eat there!" Raph groaned with disgust when he noticed his best friend's perch.

"Aww, shut up. Ya know you love it." he replied with a devilish smirk, rubbing his ass harder into the counter to make his point.

"Ugh, you sick bastard! Cut that out!" Raph said with a groan and his tongue sticking out.

"Aw, hush! But seriously, dude. Damn! You're _so_ fuckin' _lucky_." Casey sighed emphatically, staring at the gorgeous redhead who was helping set up the buffet table with the rest of the turtle brothers.

Raphael glanced out to take another look at his girlfriend. She smiled brightly at Mikey who was setting up the tablescape full of cobwebs and goblets of questionable green liquid. They were speaking back and forth but Raphael wasn't really paying much attention to the words shared between them.

 _That Cat Woman suit was definitely a great idea_ , he mused silently; taking in her gorgeous figure in that skin tight black dress. Took in the rare sight of her with hair loose around her shoulders and make-up applied in darker shades to match her costume.

"Yeah. I know. She's amazing." he replied. "But if you value your life, keep your eyes and hands to yourself."

"Don't worry, wouldn't dream of it. I do enjoy living, thank you very much." Casey chuckled, putting hands up in a sign of surrender.

While Raphael could spurt praises about his girlfriend's good looks all day, he knew exactly what Casey meant. April was something special - the young redhead just wasn't a pretty face and killer bod. She had a heart of gold, fiery spirit, and the most loving, kind soul anyone could ever hope to meet. Raphael wasn't a fool and knew just how lucky he was to have someone like her even take notice of him - much less fall in love with him.

"I wish I could find a girl like her. She's one in a billion, dude. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you two, it's just - _damn_ \- girls like her ain't easy to find... I just hope I'm lucky enough to find my own one day."

"Don't worry, dude. Some girl will come around, hopefully tough enough to put up with all the bullshit you get yourself into. Blind would work too, ya know, for her sake." Raph laughed, punching his thin friend in his arm only to be flipped the bird from his human companion.

That just made the hotheaded terrapin laugh harder.

* * *

Mikey had never been more proud of himself. He was the first to admit, maybe not _all_ of his dishes and culinary creations were masterpieces, but whatever the orange-banded turtle did, he did it with lots of love.

But _this_ creation -

 _This was his Sistine Chapel._

 _I'm a genius_ , he sighed inwardly, a proud smile upturning the corners of his mouth as he enjoyed the sight of his latest culinary creation. A warmth spreading throughout his chest as he started placing the pots, pans, and platters upon their completed Halloween Tablescape, which Mikey deemed ' _The Graveyard'._

The bright blue eyes turtle returned to the kitchen and retrieved an old bell from the cupboard, ringing it to get his brothers, Casey, and April's attention.

"I, the incredible Michaelangelo present to you -

 _Bloody Spaghetti with Eyeball Meatballs and Bone-Shaped Breadsticks!"_

Pulling open the lid to unveil his greatest creation, he was met with looks of confusion and more speechlessness than the youngest turtle was used to. His countenance fell slightly when he was not met with immediate praise for nearly two days worth of blood, sweat, and tears he'd put into this meal. The hours of carefully rolling and creating the meatballs, frying them separately before gently stirring them into the sauce, which alone took twelve hours of gentle simmering and carefully measuring spices.

"Oh, Mikey! It looks wonderful!" April said suddenly, breaking the youngest turtle out of his uncharacteristic funk. His eyes locked onto April's, taking in her bright eyes and genuine smile. He waited for a moment to see if any more compliments would follow hers.

He didn't have to wait long when the redhead quickly turned back to where her boyfriend stood nearby and swiftly elbowed him hard in the chest.

"Ooh - what the - " she hit him again, _praying_ he'd get the hint. "Ow! Oh... Um, yeah, Mikey, it looks..." a meatball with a cut green olive, looking much like an red eyeball decided to make it's presence known by floating to the top of the bloody cauldron "um...great..." he finished, giving a forced smile to his oblivious younger brother.

"Really?!" the orange-banded turtle asked excitedly, never expecting a word of praise from his hotheaded brother.

"Yeah, Mikey. Great..." murmurs from around the room started once April made sure to glare at each and every one of the quiet occupants of the room.

Completely undeterred by the lackluster reaction from his brothers and human companions, he knew once they tasted it, all their first-impressions would change.

"Well, what are you dudes and dudette waiting for!? Let's dig in!" Mikey chirped, beginning to eagerly spoon out servings for each of the occupants of the lair.

Once the youngest turtle was occupied, April flashed the unconvinced fellow dinersa glare that told them they _would_ eat without complaint. She knew as well as each of them that Mikey worked hard and anything he made _had_ to be better than the worms and algae the turtles were raised on.

Reluctantly, each of them obliged and took a plate, sitting at the table with little to no complaint. Raph didn't immediately take a bite, staring at Casey from across the table, daring the hockey-masked vigilante to see how it effected him before he dared to try any.

Suddenly, the feeling of April's thin elbow piercing the sensitive plates on his sides told him he didn't have the luxury of waiting to see if Casey died from eating the food. With barely a glance to his girlfriend sitting close by, Raphael took one bite.

That was all it took.

Within minutes, all of the occupants were chowing down on what had to be one of the most amazing meals they'd ever eaten - pizza included.

* * *

Maybe this wasn't the best idea...

As much as she was used to scary instances happening in everyday life, there was something about scary movies that still freaked the usually tough April O' Neil. She didn't outwardly show it though worrying about a reprimanding from her stoic boyfriend who just rolled his eyes even as her and his youngest brother jumped out of their skin at nearly every scary moment showcased on the brightly lit screen. April prided herself on being the calm, levelheaded one, but something about seeing a creepy little ghost children running toward the television screen freaked her the fuck out.

Of course, Raphael grabbing her and poking her at random times when the music would tense up and the scene took a dark turn didn't help matters. She lasted all of three times before she ended up socking him in the nose.

April didn't miss how Casey howled in laughter at that only for Raphael to seek his own revenge by pulling the human male into an unbreakable choke hold. The roughhousing did break some of the tension caused by creepy ghost children, cannibal mutants, or snarling demons.

"Shhhh! It's a good part!" came the voice of Leonardo from a bean bag close by. It shocked the redhead to know Leonardo enjoyed horror movies - she thought it was more caused by the large amount of sugar he'd eaten tonight than anything, but it was still nice to see the normally calm and stoic Leo get excited about something other than reruns of Space Heroes or Crognard the Barbarian.

Her eyes sought out Donatello, who, _big surprise_ , she mused sarcastically, was fast asleep on the love seat. The late nights and tedious projects on too little sleep was bound to catch up with the genius terrapin eventually. April was pleased to see he at least was getting some much needed rest for once.

April reluctantly drew her attention back to the screen only in time for a masked killer to leap from the shadows and upon the helpless teenage babysitter. Mikey threw himself toward her and screamed in a higher octave than she could even muster. In the back of her mind, she heard Raph and Casey laughing their asses off, which provoked her to throw a bowl of hard candy at them. It didn't have the intended effect when the boys instead said a quick ' _thanks'_ before digging into said bowl.

' _This is going to be a looong night...'_ April groaned inwardly, hoping Mikey's grip around her didn't fracture a rib.

* * *

One by one, the brothers began falling asleep during the horror movie marathon.

Donnie has passed out during the first twenty minutes of the first one, but that was expected - horror movies never held his attention for too long and the genius terrapin mostly just scoffed at the effects and his firm belief in ' _ghosts don't exist'_ mantra rather than just enjoying the movie for what it was.

Leo curled up on a beanbag during the third movie, sleep finally claiming him after his sugar high wore off.

Mikey and Casey made it to the opening credits of the fourth movie. Mikey curled up in front of the television, sleep baring away at him until he had no choice but to close his eyes and give in. Casey passed out upon the couch, loud snores puncturing the quietness finally developing in the Hamato household.

Raphael lay on the floor on his side, halfway watching the new movie when all of a sudden, April lay down next to him, pressing herself firmly against his plastron as his brother's slept on either side of them. Considering his unrelenting teasing and scaring her to near hysteria - followed by the angry looks she'd given him afterward - he fully expected her to be infuriated and to teach him a lesson, she'd sleep elsewhere and probably ban sex for a year. _He shuttered the thought._ So, the green-eyed turtle was just as shocked as much as anyone when she sought him out on the floor. His girlfriend had gone even as far as wrapping an arm around his side and pressing a leg between his. Not wanting to punch this gift-horse in the mouth, he'd eagerly pulled her close, gathering plenty of pillows and blankets to make her as comfortable as possible.

As much as he had complained about staying with his brothers for Halloween, he even had to admit it turned out to be a fun evening. The spaghetti with eyeball meatballs and bone-shaped breadsticks for dinner - _whoda thunk?_ \- not to mention the countless sweets and brewed fruit drinks were all amazing. Raphael couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten so much. It's been nice to hang out with Casey and his bros outside patrolling and training for a change - so getting to sleep curled up next to his gorgeous girlfriend was just the icing on top of the cake. He'd stole a quick glance at her face, which was already relaxed in sleep, and indulged in the beautiful sight. She was still wearing her costume even if he'd abandoned his mask and cape long before dinner. Leaning down to kiss her face, Raphael relaxed in the warmth of her form and the soft hum of the voices on the television to begin luring him to sleep.

The fading of consciousness signaling sleep setting in was soon broken by his youngest brother wiggling his way in between himself and the warm feminine body that was rudely pushed away from him.

"What in da hell?" Raph yelped sleepily only to see a terrified wide-eyed Michelangelo curled against his plastron. Blinking away the residue from upcoming sleep from his eyes, he was temped to growl and yell at the youngest brother to get lost, but those feelings faded once he locked eyes with April on the other side of his brother.

The pleading in her eyes to comfort his orange-banded brother was obvious and he knew pushing Mikey away wouldn't help anyone get any form of sleep tonight. Taking a necessary calming breath deep into his lungs, he wrapped a heavy arm atop his brother, softly nuzzling the youngest turtle's head affectionately.

"I'm here, Mike. What's wrong?" he grumbled against his youngest brother's head.

"There were so many monsters and I was alone, and then this freak with a red demon mask came out of _nowhere_! I didn't have my nunchuks, so I tried running away, but my feet wouldn't move, a-and, and..." Mikey mumbled, the soft tremors in his body being chased away by the comforting embrace of his older brother.

"It was just a dream, numbskull. No one's gonna hurt you...not while I'm around." the hotheaded turtle admitted against his brother's head.

"P-Promise?" Mikey squeaked, the hopefulness in big blue eyes staring straight into the soul of his red-banded brother.

Raph took a deep breath before pressing Mikey just a little closer. "I promise." he whispered just loud enough for the orange-banded turtle to hear. Instantly, he felt Mikey melt into his arms, nuzzling deeper against his big brother, the sleep coming swiftly. Raph stared at the top of the youngest turtle's head for awhile. Earlier words shared with Leonardo fresh in his mind.

 _Maybe ol' Fearless was right_ , the musing in his head told him even if he didn't care to believe it.

It was that moment he promised himself to be there for his family. As much as he pretended he didn't need them and was doing fine on his own and living with his girlfriend - this was his family. They'd always been there for him; the least he could do was spend more time with them - especially Mikey.

Looking up, he noticed April smiling warmly at him from over the top of his brother's head. He couldn't help but return the gesture April beamed over at him at hearing his softly spoken words of encouragement to his youngest brother.

"Happy Halloween, Raphael." April whispered softly, reaching over to touch the hand that was resting on the edge of Mikey's shell.

"Hmm. You too, O'Neil." Raph chuckled softly in response, grasping her small hand for only a moment.

It shocked him even more when he witnessed her mouthing the words, " _I love you._ " before her big blue eyes slid shut and she made herself comfortable against his brother's carapace.

Raph stared at her face for a moment, an involuntary smile lifting the corners of his mouth. Soon, sleep fell upon him as night progressed. With the warmth of love between family and friends, nightmares didn't bother to invade any of their dreams this Halloween night.


	10. Rooftop Rendezvous (NSFW)

**Afterglow**

 **Rooftop Rendezvous**

 **Rated: M**

 _Chapter Summary: While out on patrol, April and Raph can't seem to contain themselves..._

* * *

 **This is another (extra-long) M rated chapter! You have been warned...**

* * *

"What are ya doing?" Raphael asked the redhead following him and his brothers out of the lair.

"You really think I'm going to stay here and twiddle my thumbs while you and your brothers go out on patrol?" April replied, hands firmly planted on flared hips.

"Um..." Raph tried to retaliate when Splinter walked over and placed a hand on April's shoulder.

"It was my idea that April accompany you boys tonight. She is really accelerating quickly with her ninja training and I thought it wise she go along with you a few times a month on patrol to enhance her stealth skills."

Raph pouted at the haughty smile that immediately lit up his girlfriend's face at Splinter's words.

"Told ya..." April sing-songed as she skipped over to her boyfriend's side and grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the exit.

"Be careful tonight. Try not getting into too much trouble, my sons. You as well, Miss April." Splinter said with a kind smile and a wave as the five made their way out of the lair.

"Alright! April's going on patrol with us! How cool is this!? Soon you'll be kicking butt on a regular basis, girl!" Mikey squealed as they made their way toward the surface, grabbing April's free arm and giving it a tight squeeze.

"I can't wait!" April laughed, returning the youngest brother's affections.

The turtles and April quietly climbed out of the manhole, covering it back up with the heavy metal cover before ascending a nearby fire escape and forming a circle on top of the building.

"Listen up, gang. There have been reports of the Foot Clan over in the lower east side. I'll head up north to see if the Purple Dragons have dispersed from last night. Donnie, you and Mikey will head over east to see what the Foot is up to. If you find out anything about their hideout, call us up and we'll convene later on to see if we can put a dent in their plans. April and Raph, how about you guys go down south and patrol in that area? I don't want to throw April too fast into the thick of it and the south end is pretty quiet lately. It should be a nice first patrol for you. Sound good, everyone?" Leo spoke, his eyes surveying his brothers and April's reactions to his orders. Without any objection, he just nodded his head and disappeared into the shadows.

Donnie and Mikey met eyes for only a moment before the purple and orange banded turtle dispersed to their destination.

April and Raphael were left on the top of the building. Green eyes met blue for a moment before both nodded and began heading southbound.

An hour later, the red-banded terrapin and redheaded human were patrolling the rooftops in circles. This side of town was incredibly boring to say the least. The only action they had seen so far was a couple of graffiti artists tagging a local restaurant. The kids were no older than fourteen and one look at Raphael in the shadows had them running back home to their mothers.

"Well, this is exciting..." April muttered sarcastically, hands deep in her short's pockets and kicking an empty soda can atop the building.

Raphael just grunted in response from his perch along the edge of the rooftop. His green eyes quickly scanned for trouble but this area of town was never a big problem. Mostly apartments of hard-working folks and mom 'n pop businesses. There wasn't much crime other than drug activity but they usually left things like that to local law enforcement to deal with.

"See anything?" the redhead asked, walking over to the edge and joining her boyfriend on the ledge.

"Nothing." Raph grumbled, plopping down next to her and swinging his legs over the side of the tall apartment building. "Ol' Fearless would take the fun assignment. I've been itching to pound those Purple Dragon punks into the ground..."

"Sorry..." April said suddenly, her eyes never leaving the lights from the cars and buildings below them.

"Don't be. It's for the best. Once you get used to going on patrol, you'll start seeing more action. Just takes some time, babe." he replied with a smirk, brushing his shoulder along hers.

"So, you're not mad for me tagging along?"

"Never. This is kinda fun. If I was with the dudes, I couldn't do this." he laughed, quickly leaning over and kissing the corner of her mouth.

April smiled at him when he quickly pulled away, meeting those glowing green eyes when his T-phone suddenly went off.

"Yeah, what's up, Leo?" he answered. "Mm-hmm. Yeah, there's nothing here. Find anything on your end? No? That's odd... How about Don and Mike, you hear from them?... Seriously? Hmm... Alright. Sounds good. See ya then."

After hanging up, he grumbled incoherently before tossing the phone on the edge next to him.

"What's going on?" April asked, the conversation from Raphael's end was hardly telling.

"We're not meeting up for at least another hour..."

The news surprised her. Usually patrol didn't take this long when the brothers broke up. For them, it was divide and conquer mostly, only sticking in a large group when they had a specialty mission. If she didn't know better, it sounded like the three absent brothers were stalling - which made this time they had an opportunity she would not pass up.

"So...we have a whole hour to kill?" April asked timidly, a smirk teasing the edges of her lips and her cheeks warming at the idea beginning to form in her head.

He snorted a laugh out. "At **least** an hour... Hrn. Ya know as well as I do how easily Mikey gets distracted when Leo isn't breathing down his neck. Hell, how distracted we all get when ol' Fearless isn't around. The way he said it, girl, sounds like we'll be lucky to finish up before midnight." he grumbled, leaning back on his hands and swinging his feet in the warm breeze. It was surprisingly warm night for early November, but Raph wasn't complaining.

He'd be fan- _fucking_ -tastic if he never had to deal with snow again.

"So, let me get this straight: We're _all_ alone for at least another hour; up here, where no one can see or hear us...with _nothing_ to do?" April muttered, leaning over to languidly ghosting her lips against the cool skin of his shoulder. While not one for being overly forward, time wasn't on their side, so she was certain to do everything in her power to hint to the stubborn reptile exactly her intentions for the next hour were.

April stifled the laugh that wanted to escape when she pulled back and instantly saw Raph's eyes bug out in a delayed reaction to her insinuation before turning to face her.

 _Bingo._

"Yer serious?! **Here?** _On the roof?_ " Raph asked, his heart pounding against his plastron, cheeks growing a deep cherry red as he stared in utter disbelief at her.

April just shrugged nonchalantly. "Nah, it's okay. We don't _have_ to. You know, we can just sit up here bored and -" she didn't even get a chance to finish her thought as Raph pulled her off the edge of the roof, placing her to lay on her back on the grainy blacktop, climbing over her and kissing her within an inch of her life.

The redhead moaned into her boyfriend's mouth, hands enthusiastically grasping the tails of his tattered mask. It felt like forever since they were last intimate like this. Her dad getting a few month vacation, leaving them both unable to have much, if any time alone lately was weighing on both of them. April was not normally purposefully this lustful and practically begging for sex, but desperate times called for desperate measures and she sure as hell wasn't going to waste this precious hour alone with her sexy hunk of a turtle boyfriend. Feeling his body between her legs and the heavy weight of him on top of her felt _so good_ , but if she was being at all honest, the rough scrape of the hard roof digging into her spine wasn't. Placing small hands upon his thick chest plates, she reluctantly pulled away from his mouth with a soft pop.

"Hrm... I-Is something wrong?" the terrapin breathed against her lips, his sexual frustration giving off visceral waves.

"Yeah. I'd rather not get a skin graft from the friction of this roof..." April grumbled, pushing Raph off so she could sit up; rubbing a sore spot already developing in her lower back.

Raphael quickly peered his environment for a solution. Green eyes scanning the roof where he took notice of a small alcove shed with a few cement blocks placed inside. While not completely private, at least it would block most of the breeze. It would have to do.

"I got an idea." Raph said, standing to his wobbly legs and taking her hand to lead her quickly to the center.

April was confused mostly, seeing just a couple cement blocks in an open shed. Nearly laughing at the sheer audacity of how dismal their sexual trysts had become. She didn't even have a bed to get fucked on, but she was so desperate, she kinda wanted this to work out even she was doubting it would. Her disbelieving blue eyes turning in confusion to her boyfriend to see exactly what plan was stirring up in that cute head of his. She watched in silence as he arranged the blocks into equal piles, the towers probably only being two feet off the ground.

"Yeah, cement is going to be so much more comfortable..." she muttered sarcastically after crossing her arms, turning her eyes back to the shed.

April didn't feel or hear Raphael sneak behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist, kissing the nape of her neck. "You're not gonna be laying on 'em..." he growled, lips nipping against her sensitive skin.

"Hmm... So, what do you propose we do then?" she moaned, unfurling her arms to cover his, leaning into his tender ministrations she didn't realize how much she missed til now.

"Oh, April, you've always been so impatient... But don't worry, I got a plan." he replied while unbuttoning her shorts.

"Do you now?" April moaned, pushing her ass against his hips made her boyfriend growl deep in his throat. His large fingers deftly unbuttoning her denim shorts, the article falling into a puddle around her feet. Suddenly glad she'd chosen her tennis shoes over her boots tonight, making the task of him impatiently tugged down her leggings and underwear until they joined the shorts near her ankles much easier.

"Bend over." he growled into her neck.

April felt her cheeks flush from his impatient rumble of his hard chest plates pressed firmly against her back. Leaning over to rest her hands upon the surprisingly smooth cement blocks, spreading her legs; ass and nether region presented to the night sky.

Raphael smirked down at his girlfriend, never before seeing the gorgeous redhead nude quite in this position during their sexual trysts before. Her revealed skin glowing in the effervescent moonlight and the spattering of freckles dusted across her lower back and rump. He couldn't help himself; big thickly scaled hands rubbing eagerly across the expanse of warm porcelain flesh that desperately craved his touch. Encouraged by her moans, he lowered himself to his knees and just enjoyed the sight of her genitalia completely presented to his eyes only. He breathed in the scent of her growing arousal, running a large index through her already sopping wet vulva lips before pressing his face against her warmth.

Opening his mouth to drink her in, his tongue delving into her tight cavern as he worked his thumb over her swollen clit in rapid back and forth motions to bring her to an almost instantaneous orgasm. Her vagina pulsated around his tongue, the ecstasy washing over her as she pressed her groin harder against his face. The whimpering moan that signified a very satisfying orgasm left her lips causing his penis to quickly finish descending from his body. Giving her pussy one last taste and languid kiss to those impossibly smooth lips, he stood up and adjusted himself behind her.

"Kiss me first." Raph groaned, leaning over her back, plastron pressing against her spine. Thick fingers gripping her hips in an gentle yet unbreakable grasp.

"Mm-hmm..." the redhead groaned, turning her face to enthusiastically kiss the reptile over her shoulder. " **Oh!** " April yelped softly, breaking the kiss when she suddenly felt her vagina stretching around his invading dick that slipped completely inside in one fluid motion. The uncomfortable twinge of pain transforming into spine-tingling pleasure upon hearing him churr against the nape of her neck; biting her lip with the gratification coursing through her body feeling the complete length of him so deep inside. She'd never been ready so quickly for him - even in this new position, her body accepted him almost immediately.

"Fuck, you're so tight." Raph groaned, her tight coil squeezing him securely in her warmth.

"Oh, you ass..." April muttered teasingly as he began to thrust into her love-starved body.

"Heh. I just figured it would be easier to get inside when you're least expecting it." he replied cheekily, leaning down to kiss her shoulder blades.

"Mmm... Fine. Just keep going and I might think about forgiving you." she breathed heavily, valiantly ignoring the friction burn on her palms. "Ooh, oh, yes..." April mumbled softly, her whimpering voice punctuated every thrust; a thin layer of sweat coating her back and making her shirt stick slightly to her body.

Raphael released one of her hips, his hand brushing underneath her, lovingly caressing her soft tummy before making his way in-between her thighs to flick lazily at her clit. The swollen bead twitched against his movements, an orgasm and a shrill of pleasure escaping her lips mere moments later. She shuddered as she came down from her high, putting the majority of her weight upon her trembling arms.

"Wait, Raph. Wait." April said suddenly, prompting Raphael to slow down and stop before reluctantly pulling out of her warmth.

His green eyes watched her as she stepped out of her shorts, leggings, and panties; depositing the garments atop the cement. With confusion lacing his eyes, she lifted up her shirt and bra, just enough to expose her perky breasts to his eyes. Swallowing the sudden lump that clogged his throat, she sat down, opening her legs in a gesture of invitation.

"W-What?" Raph asked, still worried those clothes she sat on to be enough of a barrier between the cold hard cement and her fragile skin.

"My hands couldn't take it anymore." April explained with a light chuckle, "...and... I kinda like to look at you when we make love..." she finished timidly, the flush on her cheeks signaling the embarrassment she felt.

It still felt like virgin territory with him sometimes even if they were way past that. Raph wasn't a person who was willing to talk about emotions even if he did confess his love to her. He was more of a doer even if there were instances of dorky, cheesy one-liners he spewed from time to time (he was a teenage boy after all). Overall, he expressed feelings with gestures rather than words, so for her to speak her mind about this instance, she felt very vulnerable. That feeling melted away when his eyes met hers, it was a moment she saw to the very heart of him. She knew at that very instance that he felt the exact same way and her spirit soared as he closed the distance between them.

Raphael lowered himself to his knees in front of her, hands grasping softly at her thighs to soothingly massage the warm freckled skin.

"Yeah. Me too..." he admitted, green eyes ethereal in the moonlight sparkling behind him.

April just smiled, allowing the skip of her heart when he pressed his lips over hers. This time, she was the one to reach between them, gingerly grasping his slick organ; giving it a couple of gentle tugs before lining him up with her body. She kissed him once more, a nod of her head signaling she was ready. Raph chased her lips, giving her a wet open mouth kiss when a sudden roll of his hips had him gliding smoothly inside of her. A few thrusts and she found herself pushed backwards by the force; unbalanced, grasping quickly for the sides of the walls when she felt steadied by his hand cradling her lower back.

"Oops. Sorry. Um, how about you hold onto me?" he breathed against her lips, pressing his free hand on the cement next to her rump, making sure to keep both of them balanced on her thin perch.

"Kay..." she muttered her consent, arms wrapping around his broad, thick shoulders to rest her head into the concave of his throat.

He rolled his hips forward again, moving deeper inside of her. Moving faster after a new rhythm was reached, he lifted his head to test her reaction; pleased to see her cheeks bright red, eyes heavily lidded, and a pleasure induced smile upturning her lips.

"That feel okay?" he asked.

"Uh-huh... Oh yeah. Feels so good." she moaned, head tipping back as he sped up slightly.

Raphael had never been more grateful for his bulky knee pads than he was at this very moment. While he never pictured himself ever having sex in public with only the stars as a witness, it had been _so_ long and it was _so_ worth the wait. It could have been more comfortable for both of them, but he was not going to complain - this was the absolute best way to pass the time if there ever was one.

"Ooh, right _there._.." April moaned suddenly, bringing him out of his inner monologue. The pinch of pain caused by her fingernails digging into his shoulder just enhanced the euphoria that began to encase his body. He was so close but he was determined to bring her over the brink just once more before he allowed himself to finish. Reaching between their bodies with the hand that was keeping them balanced, he pressed a firm thumb over her clit and began flicking it back and forth furiously.

In seconds, both became undone.

April screamed incoherently to the sky, her body shaking with one of the most intense orgasms she'd ever experienced. Raphael was just behind her, her tight wet coil squeezing him impossibly tight, burying himself up to the hilt. A loud churr released into the hallow of her sweaty throat, his groin clenching as he released himself deeply inside of her. Once the orgasm passed and his penis was back into the confines of his body, Raphael noticed an exposed part of her he'd neglected since they started. He suddenly pressed his face against her breasts, taking one of the hardened nubs into his mouth and sucking on the slightly salty flesh; making sure to switch between the twin mounds.

April rubbed her nose into the top of his head, caressing the thin scales with her lips as she came down from her high. The endorphins scattering pleasantly though her body as she looked down at her boyfriend. A pleased smile gracing her face, fingernails gently scraping across his shoulders and neck, enjoying his afterglow affections. Biting her lip, April watched as he lovingly suckled her breasts, his tongue and lips licking and nipping the flesh, his hot breath just accentuating the tingling of pleasure it was giving her.

"Hmm... Well, I guess I have no choice but to forgive you." April chuckled, scraping short fingernails underneath his chin to upturn his head to hers.

Raphael leaned up to kiss her, ignoring the cramps in his knees and thighs from his awkward positioning. April quickly returned it, ready to ask him if he wanted to go for round two when suddenly, an obnoxious ringtone broke through their pleasure-induced haze.

Raph fumbled for his phone, pulling to his feet when he remembered the ledge where he'd left it.

Fearing the brothers telling Raph they were headed their way, April reluctantly got dressed and walked over to her boyfriend. She half-listened to his side of the conversation, but was too distracted by the way all of his glorious muscles bunched up when he leaned over the side of the rooftop.

April heard the conversation quickly end only for Raphael to turn to her with panic lacing those normally stoic green eyes.

"What?" April asked, expecting horrible news, heart palpitating uncomfortably in her chest.

"They're on their way."

"Oh... So? I'm already dressed. It's no big deal." April replied with just a shrug of thin shoulders.

"I hate to break it to you, O'Neil, but they could probably smell us a mile away." that small statement that fell from Raphael's mouth inflicted panic in her chest.

"What?! B-But, Raph, why didn't you tell me that?! Holy crap, holy crap, holy CRAP! What are we gonna do? I just got over the whole Leo incident! The last thing I need to deal with is Mikey and Donnie knowing our latest patrol pastime! Oh, God, I could never show my face in the lair again once Splinter finds out..." April ranted, pacing around frantically upon the rooftop, fingers digging into her hair.

"Sweetheart, it's okay. I have an idea..." Raph said suddenly.

April looked around before locating him on the other side of the rooftop, looking down the side of it.

"What?" April said hopefully, running over to her boyfriend to join him on the edge. Her eyes were too busy glaring at the open dumpster that she completely missed the glittering in her boyfriend's eyes, a Cheshire Cat smile breaking out across his face.

"No. No! NO! **NO!"** April suddenly threw her head toward him, a look of sheer disbelief and betrayal lacing her large blue eyes. She tried wagging a finger at him threateningly, but if anything, his smile just grew.

"Oh, yes, yes, _yes_..." Raph growled playfully, grasping her on the waist before in an instant, he flung himself over the side of the building. He ignored April's screams of terror as he sprint down the fire escape before jumping feet first into the full dumpster with a ' _splat_ '.

...

"UGH! You guys REEK! What the heck happened?!" Mikey groaned, covering his snout with his hands before he took off to stand behind Donnie as if that would barricade him from the putrid smell emitting in waves from the couple.

"Meh. April tripped on the way up the fire escape. I had to help dig her out." Raph answered with the shrug as April struggled valiantly not to glare daggers at the smug turtle.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay, April? If you had a cut, you could get an infection! Perhaps I could - " Donnie said quickly, itching to help his friend, but the smell was forcing him to keep his distance.

"I'm fine, Donnie. Thanks though. I'll just be happy to take a shower and put on a new change of clothes." April replied, forcing a bright smile on her face when every other fiber of her being wanted to shudder and vomit as well as punch Raphael in the face.

Leo looked quite unconvinced, but noticing the slight shiver in his human friend and the decreasing temperature around them, he let it go.

"A shower would be wise. Let's head back - Raph, watch out for her more, and um, April, just promise me you'll be more careful next time." Leo said.

Raph and April both gave the leader a stiff nod, which Leo returned before making his way to a nearby manhole cover.

Once his brothers were out of sight, April glared angrily at Raphael, resisting the temptation to sock him right between the eyes.

Raphael didn't seem fazed in the least, a cocky bright white smile lit up his face as he stared at his garbage covered girlfriend.

"Come on, you know it was still worth it." he snide cheekily.

"...shut up." April grumbled, quickly following after the brothers but Raph was quick to notice the flush of her cheeks at his statement. He smiled at her retreating form and was thinking of ways to convince her to shower with him back at the lair...with that tantalizing thought, he sprint to catch up with the group.


	11. Warmth

**Afterglow**

 **Rated: T**

 **Warmth**

 _Chapter Summary: Raphael hates cold weather... April_ _'s hoping to change his mind._

* * *

 **I wrote this chapter really quick yesterday. I had a completely different chapter in mind for this week, but truthfully, it's giving me hell. Hope this will suffice for now until I can figure out how to tackle it. Xoxo.**

* * *

April loved Raphael.

She really did.

But it was so tempting to change her mind when he'd put his ice cold feet on her warm calves.

"Raph! Stop it! You know I hate when you do that!" April shrilled from beneath the covers, pulling herself to a safe distance from his freezing toes.

"But you're just so warm..." Raph groaned and April swore she heard his teeth chattering. "God, I hate this time of year."

"Raph, the first snowfall just happened! It's beautiful this time of year! The snow, the season - Thanksgiving? Christmas!? It's just magical. You're just being a scrooge."

"Easy for you to say - or did you forget, I'm a reptile! Ya know - cold blooded? Cold weather usually signals hibernation or prepare to face imminent death." Raph groaned, burrowing himself further into the blankets and his concave side of the bed.

April nearly felt sorry for him but it was quickly extinguished upon feeling the press of his frozen fingertips pressing to her warm back.

"Yeek! Raphael! Cut it out!" April snapped, slapping Raphael's frozen digits away from her toasty warm skin.

His mumbled _sorry_ still wasn't good enough. She huffed and finally had to ask, "Raphael, you've lived in the sewers of New York your entire life. Yet, you still deal with being frozen every year? Shouldn't you be used to it by now?"

"Nah. It's nice in the lair. Donnie may be an anal-retentive stick in the mud sometimes, but he can sure construct an awesome heater. Why do you think I rarely was here after dark last winter?"

"Wait, if it's good in the lair, than why are you here? You should be underground if it's warmer for you."

"Well then, if that was the case, I couldn't be here...with you..." Raphael spoke gently, his bright green eyes peeking at her from underneath the covers.

"Awww... So, you're risking death just to spend the night with me?" April cooed, running a hand lovingly across his blanketed shoulder.

"For one, your dad's out for the night, so can't waste that rare opportunity, but mainly, baby, if loving you kills me tonight...then I was ready for death the moment I met you..." Raph replied, uncovering his mouth to be sure and give her one of those sexy cocky wise-ass smirks she'd come to love and hate at the same time.

April tried hard to roll her eyes - she really did.

Raph was always spewing off random romantic cheesy lines, but she had to admit, this one was was pretty damn good even if it probably was from some bad online meme or from one of Splinter's beloved soap operas. An involuntary smile lifted her lips as she stared at his cute little face peeking out from the blankets and all anger she felt at him placing his cold limbs on her melted away. Leaning down, she pressed her lips over his, tensing slightly on just how cold his lips were upon her own.

"Ooh, you're freezing, sweetheart..." April tsked after pulling away, "Tell you what - I have an idea. My dad used to do this for me when I was sick as a kid. It'll be a few minutes. Be right back." she continued, standing up, grabbing a couple of the extra blankets on the bed, and making her way to the washer and dryer in the adjoining hallway.

Raph stared curiously after her waiting for her to walk back in, but it wasn't until five minutes later, she made her way back into the bedroom with a pile of the blankets in her arms. He was a little apprehensive on what she was doing, but all of that melted away when she began piling on layers of toasty blankets atop his frozen form.

Raph practically churred at the feeling of being completely encompassed in pleasure-inducing warmth. He burrowed further into the bedsheets and groaned into the pillow, green eyes closing in the comfort flowing through his system.

April smiled at his reaction, placing the sweet moment in the back of her mind to enjoy at a later date. Fully believing his fingers and toes were now of bearable temperature, she joined him underneath the sheets. Curling against his plastron, his affections were immediate as he pressed her close, his hands pleasantly warm against her lower back and hip. April smiled against his neck, languidly kissing his pulse point as the terrapin buried his face into her pool of red hair on the pillow.

Biting her lip upon feeling his feet skirting up her calves and thighs brushing over her own, she wrapped her arms around his neck and just melted into him.

"So...how do you feel about winter _now_?" April mumbled sleepily into the skin of his throat, making sure to rove her fingers in a circular pattern on his sensitive nape.

"Best. Season. Ever..." he grumbled in a drowsy voice against the side of her head before both fell into a pleasantly warm slumber.

* * *

 _Don't you just love getting toasty warm laundry from the dryer? Especially on miserably cold days? Best feeling EVER... Have a great week, y'all._


	12. Date Night - Part 1

**Afterglow**

 **Rated: T**

 _Chapter Summary: April and Raph go on their first date - it only took them a year and a half - but like everything else so far in their relationship, it doesn't always go as planned. Part 1 of 2_

* * *

"April, you don't understand, I _need_ to get out of here..." Raph's voice over the phone nearly wanted to make her cackle with uncontrollable laughter. He could be so overtly dramatic sometimes...

"Raph, seriously. You've lived there 18 years."

"Almost 19!"

"...alright. Fine. Almost 19..." April sighed, "Anyway, you should be used to all of the shenanigans by now. Knowing you as well as I happen to, you probably caused some if not _most_ of them."

" _April_..." Raph moaned pathetically, and a crash on the other end of the line caused her cheeks to flush with the new curse word vocabulary he'd been honing a lot lately came pouring through the phone as he yelled at what she assumed was his youngest brother.

The redhead listened intently when the biting words of Master Splinter came faintly through the line telling his hotheaded son to ' _Watch your tongue, Raphael!_ ' in the most strict voice she'd heard out of the kind rat.

" _Oooh_ , someone's in trouble..." April giggled over the receiver, practically feeling the glare Raphael was no doubt sending her way.

"Sorry, Sensei..." Raph muttered before turning his attention back to the T-Phone that remained tightly in his grasp. "Shut up, O'Neil. You try living here and dealing with all this shi - c-crap on a daily basis. You'll be cursing like a sailor in no time."

"Raph, I'm sure you're just overreacting. Things haven't been easy for me either. I swear all of my professors are giving me extra homework on purpose."

"April, this is different, at least you're getting out and living a vibrant fulfilling life while I'm stuck here dealing with my brothers... Ugh... I swear, I'm gonna go out of my freakin' mind..." Raph grumbled.

April finally gave in, a soft sigh leaving her mouth at the tone in his voice. Defeat. That was a rare sound coming from the cocky terrapin if she'd ever heard one. They'd been dealt a pretty crappy hand lately with her overwhelming class assignments and her dad still on his extended vacation for another two weeks. Although it was nice to get that time alone with him on their last patrol, she was still picking out garbage from her hair, which summed up pretty quickly that she was not willing to repeat that anytime soon. Also, the last time he went to her place when her dad went out with a few friends, he was virtually a turtle-sickle when he showed up, meaning nothing happened except sleep.

So, all things considered, it only left one viable option for both of them.

"...How about a date?" April asked softly over the phone.

"We're already dating, aren't we?" Raph's confused voice asked over the line.

"No, Raph, I mean, why don't we actually _go_ on a date? I got ahead on my school work and I think I can make due skipping one night of studying - also, we've been together for over a year and a half. It's about time we did, dontcha think?"

"...April, I hate to break this to you, but your boyfriend is a fuc - uh... _freaking_ huge mutant turtle. I don't think us strutting into a restaurant would go over very well."

"Raph. Please work with me. What I was thinking is we could go to Murikami's for a late dinner then we could go to that run-down movie theater downtown. No one ever goes there so me buying the ticket and letting you in the back door will definitely go unnoticed. Bad news is that it's gonna be the crappiest movie there to assure we can have some privacy."

Raph glanced around quickly to make Splinter had left before replying, "Ooh. Privacy?"

"Not like that, you perv. I mean, so no one will walk in to see the huge turtle sitting in the theater. So... How does that sound?"

"...I guess that doesn't sound too bad. At least it lets me get out of the lair for a little while." Raph softly admitted.

"Great! So, um, wanna just meet me here at my place around seven?"

"Uh, yeah. Sounds good. I'll see you then, O'Neil." Raph said, the pep in his voice returning, causing April to smile at the welcoming change.

"Alright. See you soon, Raph...Bye."

"Bye, April."

Once the line went dead, April let out a nervous chuckle, the familiar butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. Taking a deep breath to hope they'd disperse, she checked her phone for the time and began planning her day in preparation for the night ahead.

* * *

 _Later that Night...  
_

"Hello, April. You heading out tonight?" Kirby asked from her doorway, noticing his daughter sitting at her small vanity and putting on light make-up.

"Yeah, Raph and I are headed to Murikami's for a quick bite to eat then we're going to see a movie afterward."

"Really? Wow. That's nice."

"Yeah, I'm excited. After being together a year and a half, we're actually going on our first real date." April chuckled, meeting her dad's eyes in the mirror. "Hey, you like Murikami's food, don't you? Did you want us to bring you home some before we head over to the theater, dad?" she continued, placing the mascara wand back in its holder, before turning around to look toward her father.

"No thanks, I already got some Italian ordered... Um...April?"

"Yeah...Is something wrong, dad?" April asked, setting aside her make-up bag before closing the distance between herself and her father.

Kirby was quiet for awhile, his eyes lowered to stare at his shoes. April tensed suddenly, wondering what was going on with her normally open-book father.

"...Dad?"

"I um - I have some news to share with you, April." Kirby spoke suddenly, but April noticed the veiled smile on the man's face.

"What?" April asked, fighting a smile.

"I'm seeing someone."

"Really?" she squealed suddenly, grabbing her father's hands in her excited grip. "Oh my gosh, dad! I'm so happy for you! Who, what, w-when did this happen?"

"It was at the Halloween party. H-Her name is Stacey - she's the senior engineer in our department. I met her over the course of a few conventions and business trips. I never really asked her out because it was more of a working relationship at first, but over the course of time, I got to know her and turns out, we have a lot in common. Anyway, I held back on asking her out just considering she lived in Tennessee, but when I ran into her at the Halloween party, she informed me she just moved an hour north of here. I had her number for awhile, but I called her up the other night and we met up. Basically just talked all night and to make a long story short, we decided to go steady." Kirby finished with a soft chuckle.

"Really, dad! Oh, how exciting! I'm so happy for you!" April squealed, hugging her dad around his middle.

"Thanks. She's coming over this weekend and I'm making her dinner. You're welcome to stick around and meet her, but I don't want you to feel obligated. If you'd rather spend the night at Raph's place, I completely understand." he clarified.

"Aw, that's so sweet. Um, I'll let you know tomorrow since my weekend class might run a little late - if it's okay, the turtles were having a pizza and movie night, so I'll probably just end up crashing at their place." April replied.

"That's fine. If it gets more serious though, I'd really like it if you met her."

"Sure, dad. It's just weird sometimes, you know ...Mom's been gone so long...and I've never really seen you with anyone since she disappeared...but I _want_ you to be happy, dad... "

"Yeah...I still miss her."

"Me too."

A sudden tapping on the kitchen window caused them both to jump slightly at the noise.

"Ready to go, O'Neil?" Raphael asked after pulling up the glass window. It was hard to tell it was him at first because of the over sized khaki coat and hat he wore, but there was no mistaking his husky voice. Raph took a double take, hiding his surprise at seeing her father, as if noticing his awkward perch on the window seal for the first time.

"Heh. Sorry." he continued with a chuckle, being sure to making his way carefully into the kitchen, wiping his hands along his sides nervously.

"Hello, Mr. O'Neil. How are you this evening?" Raph continued, scratching the back of his head.

"Pretty good. Yourself, Raphael?"

"Great." his easy charm taking over with a grin lighting up his face. "Um... How's the vacation going?"

"Good."

"That's awesome. Glad to hear it. Um - anyway, I was just in the neighborhood, and thought I'd stop by to say _'hey_ ', so um... "Hey'."

The awkwardness could be cut with a knife, so April was sure to step in really soon before Raph had a heart attack.

"Raph, he knows we're going out."

"Really?" the surprise on his face nearly made her laugh out loud.

"Really." Mr. Kirby O'Neil confirms with a teasing smile.

"Cool. Uh... I'll be sure to have her home by midnight, sir." Raph said with a nervous smile and April swore she saw his heart pounding straight through his plastron.

"Thank you, but there's no need. You two have fun. Get home when you can." Kirby replied, placing a hand on April's shoulder.

"Thanks, dad." she said warmly, standing on tip-toes to kiss her father on the cheek. "See you later, daddy."

"Yes, thank you, sir." Raph said stoically, bowing at the waist to her father.

April grabbed her jacket and made her way over to the window. Opening it to feel the cold chill of the autumn breeze ruffling her hair, she stole a glance back at the two most important men in her life just in time to see Kirby giving Raphael a scarf. April bit her lip as he watched Raph awkwardly position it around his neck before he bowed once again to her father and making a b-line to where she stood.

"Have fun!" Kirby O'Neil shouted out to them with a friendly wave as they exited the window and into the night.

Murikami is a nice man.

One of the only humans that didn't care what they were. He took them in, welcomed them and always made sure to ask them over daily to try his new recipes - so, he was basically Mikey's best friend in the universe. Over the course of time, they'd come to accept him as part of their family and would enjoy his company.

This was crossing the line though.

"Ooh, the lovebirds are here! April, Raphael! Welcome! Welcome! Please, sit down!" Murikami gushed when him and April walked into the back door.

Raph inwardly cringed at the nickname he'd soon come to despise.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Murikami! It was so nice of you to close your restaurant early for us." April replied, grasping his extended hand.

"Oh, it's no problem, Miss April, it has been a rather slow day. But enough of that! You two lovebirds need to sit and let me serve you! I prepared you two something _very_ special." he replied in a heavy Japanese accent, gesturing to the counter and stools near the kitchen.

Raph and April took a seat after placing their coats and winter wear near the front door. Once seated, Mr. Murikami made his way through the kitchen's double doors to retrieve what no doubt would be an amazing meal.

Once the coast was clear, April made her move.

"Aww. _Lovebirds!_? That is _so_ cute! Ooh, ooh! I know! You'll be my little _turtledove_!" April gushed, reaching over to pinch Raphael's blushing cheeks and rubbing her cold nose over his.

Raph was too stunned by her affections to even recant a word.

"Here we are! Some of my spinach and sausage Pizza Giouzu for the lovely couple!" Murikami spoke with flourish as he spun out of the kitchen. The heavy plate like air in his skilled hands as he placed the food right in front of them. "Now, you two enjoy and just ask if you need anything else. I'll be in back cleaning up the kitchen." he continued, wiping his hands upon the towel tucked into his apron strings.

Raph was still slightly mortified as he watched the elderly man disappear behind the swinging doors. He turned his eyes to April, who was already helping herself. Raph swallowed the lump that clogged his throat. He had no idea why his nervousness was nearly eating him alive. He first thought it was seeing Mr. O'Neil, but April's kind father was sure to ease his worries, giving him a scarf and patting his shell on the way out of the house. He'd been to Murikami's dozens of times, so that wasn't it. His green eyes then fell on April.

Tonight, she was very touchy feely, even more than usual. Sure, their PDA's were rare especially at the lair and at her father's, and even though Murikami was blind, it didn't even make sense.

Then what was it?

Then it hit Raph like a ton of bricks. This was his first 'date'. Yeah, him and April had been together for over a year yet they'd never been _out_ before. Raph just naturally assumed he never would have to worry about having to do so - and now he was absolutely petrified that he'd find some way to royally fuck it all up. He doubted the movies he'd seen and television shows were hardly proper education on dating etiquette either. So, either way, he was screwed.

"What's wrong? Aren't you hungry?" April's voice rang out suddenly.

"Yeah!" Raphael said quickly, throwing a couple dumplings in his mouth to make sure he couldn't talk and further mess it up. If he'd had sweat glands, he was sure his face would be profusely dripping right now.

April just smiled at his gusto before going back to her meal.

Raph swallowed the big mouthful, clearing his throat as he chanced another glance at his pretty girlfriend. In his distraction, he began reaching for his napkin, not even noticing the kind older man quietly placing a large pitcher of soda near his arm. And as if hoping his luck would change tonight, it was all shattered upon hearing the pitcher make it's way to the floor, the dark sticky soda spraying across the counter and floor. Raph took a moment to take in the mess and resisted the incredible urge to just curl up inside his shell.

Yep. Tonight was going to be a loooong night...

* * *

 **That was part one of two. I thought I'd make it easier on myself and break up these longer ones. Hope y'all don't mind. Just makes it easier to up the mojo to write a new chapter every week. :-)**


	13. Date Night - Part 2

**Afterglow**

 **Rated: T**

 **Date Night - Part 2**

 _Chapter Summary: April and Raph go on their first date - it only took them a year and a half. Also, like everything so far in their relationship - it doesn't always go as planned. Part 2 of 2_

* * *

After cleaning the mess and saying their goodbyes to Murikami, who surprisingly asked them to come back sometime, the two set out toward the theater hand in hand. With winter fast approaching, the sun fell from the horizon annoyingly early which meant that anytime after 6pm was basically midnight; meaning Raph wasn't too concerned about being noticed in the darkness of the night.

"Isn't this great, Raphael?" April trilled from his side, tightening her grip upon his arm.

"Yeah." Raph replied with an easy chuckle, sidling closer to his girlfriend in an attempt to steal some of her wonderful warm-blooded body heat in the cold late autumn air.

"...Thanks." April whispered, slowing down her steps to a stop near a dark alley.

"What for? Ruining the dinner?" Raph asked with a nervous chuckle, taking a glance into the alley and around to make sure their surroundings were clear.

"Raph, it was an accident. It happens...besides, you were so sweet and it's kinda sexy to see you working that mop. You should clean more often." April replied with a light chuckle and wiggle of her brows, tugging on his scarf in order to bring his face toward her for a quick kiss before resuming to their destination.

They made it two blocks til Raphael began getting a familiar dreaded tug in his gut. A feeling that came up all too often for him and his family. Being a ninja vigilante who vowed to keep his city safe was by no means an easy job. In fact, it didn't pay a freaking penny and caused more injuries and headaches than he ever cared to remember. But there was no doubt he appreciated his heightened sense of self - he could sense danger, knew when someone watched him and could easily discern when he was being followed. Raphael quickly glanced over his shoulder on occasion, he became all too aware of one detail -

He hated being right.

There were five of them in total. All wearing way too much black and making a ruckus from just a couple yards behind him and April. Sure, this theater they were heading to was empty and cheap, but this neighborhood was notorious for crime and being out here after dark was just asking for trouble. Raph sighed deeply at this predicament. Wasn't anything going to go right for him tonight? He closed his eyes and wasn't at all surprised when he felt April tug tighter on his hand.

She knew.

April may be lacking in the muscle department, but she could sure pack a punch regardless - not to mention her psychic Kraang abilities. She probably sensed them before he did. Raph did not want this to end in a brawl though. He was restricted by way too much clothing and he doubted April brought her Tessen with her, so he was just hoping to get away and avoid confrontation - which for him, was a big deal. If it was any other night, he'd be the main instigator just to have an excuse to break in a scumbag's face.

Then all of a sudden, they were gone.

Raph thought it odd and thought maybe it was his nervous habit to expect the worst out of humanity. He'd been rejected and only associated with the worst of them, except April, Mr. O'Neil, Murikami, and Casey of course, but in total, his experience with people had never ended positive, so so what was he supposed to expect? But for now, he relaxed, until he noticed just up ahead, those same goons walked out of the alley and just stood there just yards away from him and April.

Raphael took a calming breath and immediately braced himself for a fight. He was about to tell April to take off somewhere safe before things got too messy, but before Raph could say anything, one of the boorish idiots decided to speak.

"How you guys doing dis night?" the obvious leader of them, looking like a complete douche-bag accentuated with greasy long hair and leather jacket, chuckled with a heavy New York accent.

Both the redhead and terrapin ignored the attempt at conversation, but it didn't slow down the man in the least.

"Hey, you're kinda pretty lady...so w-whatcha doin' with dat short freak? I think you can do better than that."

"Maybe she's just got low standards, Joe." one of the other men began instigating along.

"Heh. An easy girl, huh? Hey, I gots an idea, why dontcha ditch the fuckin' loser and come have a taste of a real man? If ya know what I mean..." The leader spoke up, his slurred words signaling his obvious drunkenness if it wasn't obvious enough by the nearly empty bottle of Jack dangling in his fingers.

"Hope yer prone for sharing though, cause if ya fellas don't mind, I'd love a piece of that. Hmm... Ya think she's a natural redhead?" a pot-bellied older man next to him spoke, not even bothering to hide the obvious adjustment he had to make in his pants.

"Only one way to find out..." the leader chuckled back.

The other three younger men, probably sixteen to eighteen years of age, looked more uncomfortable than anything but seemed to be waiting to see what the older men were going to do next before they decided on what action to take.

Raphael saw red. His heart hammered and palms itched to ram his sais into each of their groins until they breathed their last. The only thing stopping him was April's warm hand atop his trembling fist. He knew losing his temper would do no good. These men could be armed and he knew for sure April wasn't. These men may be drunk, but they were huge, so there was no way he was going to fly into a blind rage with his girlfriend unarmed.

"Listen, I don't want any trouble tonight, alright? If you'll please excuse us, I'd like to continue to our destination." April said calmly, but Raph felt the tremors of her hand against his.

"Nah. I don't dink so. You're not from dis side of town are ya? Heh. Walking down the street this time of night looking like that, yer pretty much askin' for it." the leader chuckled as he gestured to her with the bottle in his hand, the unpleasantness of that deep slurred voice making April's hair stand on end. The sourness in her gut increasing as his eyes roved over her making her skin crawl.

"Yer the one asking for it..." Raph growled suddenly, but April's hand just tightened over his, calming his sudden rage.

"Hey, I'm sorry if we're on your turf or something. We had no idea, so we'll just go. Now, if you please exc..." April spoke but was interpreted yet again - it was enough to get on her last nerve.

"Aw, ain't that sweet, boys? She's trying to get her _lil'_ boyfriend out of getting his ass kicked." The eldest, heavier man said, looking back at the three younger men behind them.

The younger men glanced at each other before all chuckling nervously in response.

"Hah! That's a load of shit if I ever heard one! It's you guys who'd get your asses handed to them before you raise a fist." April snorted suddenly, making Raph turn wide eyes toward her. Here he thought she was going to try and avoid getting into a confrontation, but he also remembered, this was April - the fiery stubborn redhead who didn't take crap from anybody - least of all a group of stupid drunk men.

"What was that, bitch?" The leader asked, a quirked eyebrow in amusement.

April's eyes flashed steel blue and Raph tensed.

 _He did not just say the b word..._ The only thought circling in the terrapin's head.

"Excuse me?" April said, releasing the comfort of Raph's hand and placing both of her hands firmly on her hips. She didn't even move and Raphael firmly stayed put but remained tight as a loaded spring as the man approached them until he was only a foot away. From this distance, Raphael could easily discern the hard liquor on his breath and b. much everywhere else - his sensitive nose could barely take it.

"What - ya mean, bitch? Heh. Seeing as you spread your legs for this freak, do ya just prefer I call ya _slut_?" the man's nose was broken before he even realized what happened.

April pulled back her hand and flinched at the blood that covered her knuckles, but before she could do anything else, Raphael was already in motion; flicking out the sais from underneath his coat, cutting the buttons in the process to reveal exactly what he was in the dim streetlights.

"HOLY HELL! What da fuck are you!?" the fat man screamed, not even bothering to help his bleeding friend screaming like a wounded cat next to him.

"Your worst nightmare..." Raph growled while making sure to flash his canines before flying forth and delivering blow after blow with arms, legs, and the butt of his sais. The blows he dealt were not meant to do serious harm - Raphael was not a killer if he didn't have to be, and he found out quickly that these men weren't even armed. But after those words they had spoken to his girlfriend and their veiled insults to himself, he was surprised that he wasn't the one who attacked first.

The leader and heavy man were knocked unconscious quickly and dumped unceremoniously into an open trash bin where they belonged. Raph was apprehensive to follow after the three teens that scattered as soon as April gave the first blow. The red-banded terrapin took a calming breath before giving a swift kick to the trash can once more for good measure before turning around.

His heart skipped a beat when he realized April wasn't standing behind him.

Raphael holstered his sais while he scoped the darkness where he noticed her sitting in an adjoining alley. Without signaling his approach, he sprint toward her. Raph realized too late that it was a bad idea when her first reaction was screaming. Before he could utter a single sound, April launched to her feet in a flurry; her small first smashing against his snout causing a flash of blinding pain to erupt behind his eyes.

Raph grunted and fell back to the cold, hard cement much to April's shock and dismay.

"Oh no! RAPH!" April shrilled as she ran toward his fallen form.

"Woah... D-Damn, gurl, whataya been eatin' lately? Hulk powder?" Raph grumbled nasally, cradling his bleeding snout in his hand.

"Oh gosh, honey, I'm sorry, Raphael... I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you. I swear! I - I..." April blubbered, hands shaking profusely as she tried to access his face; eyes wide and scared.

"It's okay." Raph replied, pulling himself up to a sitting position. He pulled a large hand away and saw a good amount of glittering red blood on his palm. Catching her eyes for a moment, he saw the fear etching those beautiful blue orbs. Wanting to abolish that look in her eyes, he smiled at her and continued, "Wowie, baby. You sure pack a punch. That was awesome."

" _Awesome_!? Raph, I just socked you in the nose and you're bleeding everywhere! How is that awesome?!" April shrilled angrily, taking off her scarf to begin dabbing the leaking blood from his nostrils.

"I've never been prouder of you in my life. I mean, not only did you get that asshole, you got _me_! You're getting better everyday." Raph chuckled, grasping her hand that was dabbing at his nose.

"I think you hit your head when you fell. Come on, we need to get back to the lair and have Donatello take a look at you." April diagnosed, quickly standing to help him up.

"Babe, I'm fine." Raph groaned, making his way to his feet even if he wobbled a bit on the way up.

"Please, Raph. Not now..." the voice she was using was firm as she wrapped her scarf around his bleeding orifice to collect the remaining dripping blood.

Raph took another glance at her in the dim light coming from the alley. He felt a cold breeze through his plastron when he saw tears lining the edges of those baby blues.

"...April..." her name a sigh on his lips.

" _Please_ , Raph. Let's just go back to the lair. Okay?" April yelled suddenly, arms shaking by her sides.

"...but the movie..." Raph mumbled, feeling slightly uncomfortable with her sudden emotional breakdown.

"PLEASE! Let's just go now!" April demanded loudly and Raph found himself unable to say no.

With a nod of his head, the two made their way to the closest manhole cover. Once safe in the confines of the sewers, they silently made the long trek to the lair. Raph kept glancing at her at intervals, but April was stoic and silent; eyes trained forward and mouth in a firm line. He opened his mouth multiple times to joke with her a bit in order to ease some of the sudden tension, but wasn't sure what to say. It was like something inside of her snapped and he had absolutely no idea what to expect had he decided to open his mouth.

Walking into the lair, it was much like you would expect. Leo was gone - probably on his own anal-retentive patrol or another long meditation marathon with Master Splinter; Donnie was holed up in his lab like usual, and Mikey was an inch away from the television, surrounded by junk food and completely oblivious to the world around him.

April and Raph still didn't speak as they walked the distance to his bedroom. Raph plopped down onto his bed as his girlfriend quickly disappeared back out into the hallway and soon returned with a small rusted tin of first-aid supplies they kept in the bathroom.

The redhead was methodical as she unwrapped her ruined, formerly white, scarf from his face; flinching when she saw the crusted blood around his nostrils. She gently stroked along the barely noticeable nasal passage to check for any signs of broken bone but thankfully, found none. Silently, she was just thankful that Raph had such a hard head, which was a testimony to why her knuckles still stung.

Raphael watched her work in silence; April grabbing the small bottle of alcohol and a few large cotton balls and began cleaning the area to clean away the remainder of blood. There was no cut, so no pain accompanied her ministrations, but the strong smell of the product still caused him to flinch at the contact anyway.

"I'm really sorry." April whispered suddenly while gently running a thin finger along his now bloodless snout.

"It's fine." Raph sniffed, glad the bleeding had already stopped. "Heh. Sorry about ruining your scarf."

"You didn't ruin anything...I'm the one that screwed everything up..." April softly admitted, turning her back to him once while throwing away the used cotton and packing away the unused supplies.

"What are you talking about? You're not the one who spilled pop all over the floor and counters at Murikami's place; not to mention almost choking to death on a fortune cookie paper." Raph chuckled, his fingers itching to touch her but wanting to see her reaction first.

To his relief, April laughed softly and turned to him while leaning heavily against the wall. "It's still better than nearly breaking two noses in the span of three minutes."

"That was awesome, though! I don't see why you freaked out about it. You were really something, babe."

"Raph..." April groaned.

"April, please - just tell me what's wrong? You've been weird even before you nearly punched my face in." Raph replied with a chuckle, hoping to God she would take the bait and start joking back or at least reveal what was wrong.

April opened her mouth to retort, but her countenance fell just seconds later as she made her way toward him, plopping herself next to him on the bed. "It's just... I never made anyone bleed before."

The admission was strange to Raphael. April had been in the midst of fighting and had kicked some serious butt on numerous occasions. Yeah, they were mostly bloodless Kraang and machinery, but she'd still fought. So, for her to admit something so minimal kind of caught him off-guard. Raph hated to dwell on it, but he'd killed before - the first time was the worst, but he validated it because he was protecting his family - which necessarily didn't make it any easier, but doable. It was the only way he could sleep at night - and to see his girlfriend so shaken up just for smashing some scumbag's nose? It hardly made sense.

Before Raphael could say anything, April continued speaking.

"It's not really the fact I broke the dude's nose. The jerk deserved it - it's just - I _never_ lost my temper so quickly like that..."

"...So that one time I forgot to use a coaster, you screamed so much, you almost popped a blood vessel... Was that just a fluke?" Raph asked, making sure to grin sheepishly as he said it/

"Shut up, Raph, that's completely different!" April groaned miserably into her hands. "I just... I was so freaking nervous tonight! I wanted to make it perfect and nothing was going right, I - I was just so mad that this asshole had the gall to approach us and just instigate all this crap when all I wanted was for us to be normal! For us just to go out and have a good time like any couple deserves to! Instead we get cornered by this jerk and I yell and overreact and get us into a fight! I almost break your nose when all I wanted was for you to get to enjoy a crappy movie at a shitty public theater for the first time in your life and... I just... Oh, Raph... I can't do anything right..."

"What the hell are you talking about? I was the one who ruined the dinner! All the pizza gioza Murikami worked so hard to made us were drenched in soda!" Raph was quick to point out, the sheer audacity of April taking blame for their date going array giving him the courage to point out his own mistakes for the evening. "You were perfect tonight! I mean, for you to arrange everything and actually want to attempt to go out with me in public is phenomenal, April. I was the one who was terrified of fucking everything up."

"Really?" April asked a moment later, pulling her shocked face from her hands to match eyes with her boyfriend. "You just seemed so self-assured even when you were on your hands and knees scrubbing soda from his hard wood floors."

"Heh. Yeah, that was mainly an act - my heart was pounding out of my chest nearly the whole freaking time. If anything, I was the one ready to mess it up - Let's face it April, I have no experience on this stuff whatsoever. Yeah, I've seen people date on TV and movies, but I was certain I was just screwing everything up. Casey's advice wasn't any better either. It's not like Jones is the greatest guy to model a successful date after... Anyway, I was nervous because I just wanted you to have a good time..." Raph admitted, hands nervously wiping at his thighs.

"...I did have a good time."

"Really?" Raphael had his turn to ask, eyes widening at her admission.

"Well, yeah...while it was unconventional and not exactly as I planned...but... it was fun. Getting to have dinner with you and walking around town - seeing you beating the crap out of those losers. Heh... I had a lot of fun... I really did." April admitted, smiling warmly at the green-eyed terrapin.

"Hmm. Me too." Raph replied before going in and kissing the edge of her lips. He pulled away just seconds later, smiling at her, hands folded in his lap as he tried to calm all the sudden butterflies dancing in his stomach.

"Can we do that again?" April asked, nervously biting at her lower lip.

"The date?"

"I meant the kiss, but I think another date is in order too."

"Hmm. I guess I can manage that..." he replied, reaching over to grab her small hands, which she grasped eagerly in return. April scooted closer to him as their lips started to close the distance -

"RAPH! APRIL! You're here!?" Mikey suddenly announced himself, Raph's bedroom door flying open with a crash against the adjoining wall, causing Raph and April to quickly fling apart.

"Dammit, Mikey! You nearly scared the shell off of me! What do you want!?" Raph growled at his youngest brother, standing to his feet to put as much distance between him and April as possible - mostly just to avoid any questions Mikey may start asking upon seeing their closeness.

"The unofficial Crognard the Barbarian one-hour special is about to come on! Me and Donnie were getting ready to watch it. Wanna join?" Mikey said excitedly, jumping around eagerly on the balls of his feet.

Raph turned slightly to gauge April's reaction and the redhead just shrugged, a big smile taking up residence on her face.

"Sure. Why not?" April spoke up, turning her gaze to the excited youngest turtle.

"Really?! _Awesome!_ I'll make the popcorn with lots of extra butter and jellybeans!" the orange-banded terrapin screamed excitedly before running back out toward the living area.

Raph let out a deep breath out as soon as Mikey bounded out of the room; crossing his arms loosely across his chest. He tensed slightly upon feeling April's arms suddenly wrapped around his neck, her soft lips pressing upon his cheek.

"So, where's the kiss I was promised?" April whispered against the side of his head.

Raph quickly quelled the sudden flush of his cheeks, arm wrapping around her thin waist. The kiss he gave her was quick and chaste, pulling away while he still had control over his own urges.

"Aw, that's all?" April whimpered with a mock pout.

"Heh. Sorry, babe. Guess we just gotta wait til after Don and Mike fall asleep for all that."

"Perfect. It's a date." April giggled, stealing one last kiss before bounding out of the room with Raphael following close behind.


	14. Birds and the Bees

**Afterglow**

 **Rated: T**

 **Birds and the Bees/Awkward Brotherly Conversations**

 _Chapter Summary: Mikey_ _'s getting older and he has some very interesting questions to ask his older brother._

* * *

 **Taking a little break from Raphril to bring some Raph and Mikey bonding time.**

* * *

Raphael was bored to say the least...

April was in the midst of finals - studying all day and night, doing projects, going to classes and study sessions with her fellow students all towards finishing the semester strong before she could vastly enjoy the month-long Christmas break. As much as he wanted to demand she take it easy and not stress so much, Raph knew just how important her schooling was to her, so naturally, he backed off as she completely immersed herself in her studies - it would all be over soon anyway...that was a week ago...and now, Raphael was certain of one thing...

Raph was certain it was hell on earth.

He hadn't seen head or tail of April since their _'date night'_ over a week and a half ago and texts and calls were pretty much the only contact Raphael had with his girlfriend over the time. He hadn't recalled a longer time he'd spent away from her since they met and it was quite a dry spell to say the least. Raph admitted he wouldn't be so bitter if his best friend was around. He missed the scrawny human dork once in awhile and now was the perfect time to just hang-out and goof off, but _nooooo_ \- even Casey was off on a week long trek with his family spending time in the toasty Florida weather.

 _Fuckin' Casey..._ Raph grumbled internally during his own personal pity party thinking of that little punk soaking up the wonderful warm weather as he was stuck here, freezing and dying of boredom.

With April at college and her dad still on vacation left Raphael the only viable option than to stay put at the lair. With the drastic cold change in weather, he couldn't spend his time just going around on patrol to take some suppressed aggression out on any unlucky, unsuspecting criminal scumbags. No, of course not - life wasn't that kind to him. Instead, the snow pretty much guaranteed he was stuck underground surrounded by Mikey hopped up on way too much sugar and no where else to release his energy than to spend every waking moment bothering his fellow brothers - Raph in particular.

Mainly because Leo and Splinter spent most of their time mediating or going over new options for Karai, or Miwa as Splinter still so lovingly called his mutant snake daughter, human...thing. Donnie was safely secured in his lab, which he installed a new pass-code lock on to avoid a very bored and destructive Michelangelo.

Raphael wasn't as fortunate since the orange banded turtle only had one victim left and it didn't take Donnie to figure out who it was.

"Raphie Boy!" Mikey skipped into his room. Raph stopped bothering closing the door exactly three days ago since Mikey nearly broke it off the hinges when he flung it open in a sugar-induced fit of excitement.

"Hey." Raph muttered behind his heavy metal magazine.

"Whatcha doing?" the youngest turtle trilled; hands behind his back as he bounced around on the balls of his feet.

"Readin'."

"Kewl!" the orange-banded brother replied happily, plopping himself near Raph's feet on the bed. "So...where's April?"

"Class." Raph replied, hoping one-word answers would deter his youngest brother from asking more questions - hopefully getting the hint to leave him alone.

"Again? Hmm, so that's why you're here. Heh. Suspected as much since you're only here when you have to be anymore." Mikey chuckled and the sadness underlying that normally cloyingly sweet voice made a chill reverberate through Raph's plastron.

The red-banded turtle took a deep breath before pulling the magazine away from his face to look at his brother. The sight of the youngest turtle just taking his time in looking around the room with nothing but a forlorn gaze made Raphael recall Leo's words from Halloween. Raph had been selfish. Spending all of his free time with his girlfriend rather than his family who'd always been there for him and the time he did spend with them boiled down to patrol and meals and holing himself up in his room.

"Hey, Mikey. Did you want to hang out?" Raph finally asked and held back a smile upon seeing how his youngest brother instantly lit up at the idea.

"Really?! I'd love to! What did you have in mind, Raphie?" Mikey said excitedly, legs swinging from his perch on the bed. Raph didn't even have the heart to tell him to stop calling him by that dreadful childhood nickname.

"Hmm... How about you whip us up some of your famous hot cocoa and we'll watch some of those strange Christmas specials you like so much? It's barely December, but there's gotta be some channel playing them already."

"You'd watch those with me? But you hate those specials. Especially the snowman and reindeer ones." Mikey was quick to point out.

"Meh. They're kinda charming in their own twisted demented way, so why the shell not, huh?" Raphael chuckled, sitting up next to his brother and giving him a quick noogie.

"Awesome! I'll get started on the hot cocoa! Lots of butter and marshmallows in yours too, right?"

"Eh, how about we skip the butter this time, huh, Mike?"

"Your loss, dude! It just leaves more for me anyway."

"Knock yourself out." Raph chuckled.

"Alright! Meet me in the living room in 5 minutes **sharp**! _Booyokasha!_ " Mikey trilled excitedly as he flung himself off the bed and out of the room in record time.

* * *

Five Christmas specials and three cups of overtly sweet cocoa later, Raph and Mikey were nearly passed out upon the floor, bean bags, pillows, and blankets strewn around the living room. Raphael would have been content just to close his eyes and fall asleep, but of course, his youngest brother wasn't letting that happen. But instead of the normal lighthearted conversation, Raph was surprised when Mikey brought up something the red-banded terrapin wasn't prepared to discuss.

"Hey, Raph." Mikey said softly, turning down the television much to his older brother's surprise.

"Yeah, Mike?"

"You think I'll see Renet again?" the soft voice was not one Raph associated with the orange-banded turtle. So surprised he was by this latest development, Raph even made the effort to sit up and look at his younger brother. Raphael easily recalled the strange circumstance that lead them to meet the time holder. While he was not overtly impressed with her aloof nature and clumsiness, he knew Mikey was simply infatuated with her, so he stomped his own opinions for the simple fact that Renet seemed to like him too.

"What?" Raph asked to make sure he was hearing right.

"Renet...Do you think I'll see her again?"

"I really don't know, Mike." Raph replied truthfully. Now was not a time to start lying to his youngest brother.

"Well, if I do, do you think maybe we could be like you and April?" the youngest turtle asked hopefully.

"I don't see why not." Raph shrugged. After all, miracles did happen considering April chose him of all people, why couldn't Mikey have a chance with Renet?

"Really? You think so?"

"Of course. Stranger things have happened. Take me and April for example." Raph laughed.

"That's true." Mikey easily chuckled along with his brother. "Um... Raph... I wanted to ask you a few questions about dating and girls and stuff..." Mikey muttered, hands nervously wringing in his lap.

"Hey, Mikey, don't ya think these are questions you should be asking Master Splinter?" Raph asked quickly hoping Mikey couldn't sense exactly just how nervous he was about this change of conversation. Sure, he was being kind of a hypocrite since he himself didn't ask Splinter. More than anything, he just winged it, researched online, and occasionally asked Casey a few things - not that the mask-wearing vigilante was any help or had any serious experience of his own - but compared to Raph, he was the Einstein of courting a girl.

"I thought about that, but I mean, when Master Splinter talks about Teng Shen, he was human when he was with her. He was...normal and you know, we're not. But you and April made it work, and since April and Renet are human, I thought you'd be the one to ask. I just wanna know how I'd go about asking her out and stuff." Mikey rambled, hands gesturing wildly as he tried to let out some nervous energy by swinging around his arms while still avoiding eye-contact with his brother.

Raph took a deep calming breath as he tried to figure out the best way to do this or if he was to say anything at all. Sparing another glance at his youngest brother made his mind up for him. Mikey came looking to him for guidance and well it wasn't exactly a conversation Raph was looking forward to, he knew he had an obligation as an older brother to do so.

"So, what questions did you have exactly?" Raph asked to make sure what his youngest brother was asking of him.

"Next time I see her, I wanna ask her out and maybe ask her if she would like to be my girlfriend. How did you ask April?"

Raph chuckled at that. His own experience fresh in his mind as he recalled the kiss April gave him a year and a half ago at Northampton. It wasn't so much asking as just kinda ending up together. While his feelings for April varied over time, he was infatuated since the first moment he saw her. She was pretty, smart, strong, funny, and stubborn. Pretty much the perfect girl in his book. But Raph never thought about it seriously until she was the one who ended up kissing him.

"I didn't ask." Raph responded much to Mikey's shock.

"You didn't? But how did you get together then?"

"Heh. It just kinda happened, Mike."

The confused look on Mikey's face signaled the need for further explanation.

"That night you saw me and April getting off the chicken coop was the first night we were together. She was crying earlier that day and I found her later, and outta freaking nowhere...she kissed me...and I kissed her back."

"So, that's what you were doing up there." Mikey said, eyes wide and horrified.

"It was just kissing, Mikey." Raph chuckled, still shocked at how innocent and Mikey was for a nearly nineteen year old teenager. It was still hard to believe him and his brothers were pretty much exactly the same age when Mikey just oozed naivety and was part of the reason Raphael was so protective of his youngest brother.

"Still grossed me out when you guys were kissing on the couch a few nights afterward when I went down to the kitchen to get some leftover pizza. Ugh. Almost ruined my appetite and that's hard to do, dude." the orange-banded turtle shuddered with his tongue sticking out.

"Heh. Mikey - listen to yourself. If you're serious about Renet, you're gonna be kissing her too."

"Well, DUH! But just on the cheek and giving each other lotsa hugs." Mikey said with blue eyes wide and determined.

"How long do you think that's gonna last? All couples kiss on the lips eventually, Mike. You better start getting used to the idea. Whataya know? You might actually like it." Raph laughed, reaching over to sock Mikey in the arm.

"Well...maybe _eventually._.. After all, it can't be that bad, right?"

"Actually, it's pretty awesome to share saliva." Raph full on howled in laughter at the mortified look that crossed Michelangelo's face the second those words fell from his lips.

"Aw, dude! TMI, bro! That's just **sick**!" Mickey groaned, his skin taking on an even greener tinge to his face at the thought but he soon began to laugh along with his older brother.

The laughter died down in the next few moments were quiet, the movie dragging back the attention of the brothers until another sudden question nearly stopped Raphael's heart.

"Raph.."

"Hmm?"

"What's sex?"

Raphael quickly spewed out a big slug he'd just taken of his tepid cocoa.

"What?" the red-banded terrapin shouted, cheeks burning from the question he never would have believed would pass his youngest brother's lips.

"Don't make this weird, dude. I just wanna know. I hear about it on TV a lot... Especially when Master Splinter watches those weird soap operas late at night. I dunno, I was just curious. I was gonna ask Donnie, but I don't think I can handle all those long words he uses and forget asking Leo because it'll just turn into an interrogation." those big blue eyes wide as he stared eagerly into his

"Mikey, I really think you need to talk to Splinter about that..."

"...but I'd rather ask you."

"Why?"

"You're my brother and I dunno...I feel like I'm the closest with you...before Casey came along, I thought we weren't just brothers - we were best friends. I feel like I can tell and ask you anything."

"Oh, Mikey..." After a deep breath, Raph finally gave in. "Sex is an act that should be reserved for two consenting adults who love each other very much. It's another form of intimacy you share with a partner you want to spend your life with, but only when you're certain you're ready for something that life-changing."

"What if she is...but I'm not ready? She seems so mature. More than me anyway..." Mikey asked. Raph quickly noticed the nervous tremors throughout his youngest brother and easily placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder.

"Mikey. Look at me." Raph said and was pleasantly surprised when Mikey easily met his eyes. "You'll know when you're ready but you _wait_ until you are. Not a second sooner - understand? Don't let anyone try and talk you into something that important sooner than the second you're ready for it."

"So, you and April have done it already?"

Raph felt his face flush at the question but knew trying to dodge any question his brother had was out of the question. "As much as I hate to kiss and tell, yeah, we've been...intimate. We love each other very much and we both waited until we were good and ready before taking that next step."

"How long did you wait?"

"Almost a year and a half."

"Really? That long?"

"Heh. Believe it or not - Yeah."

"But you seem so sure of yourself and we've known April for years! You'd think that would take any awkwardness out of it."

"You'd think, huh? I guess in my own way I was still in shock over the whole thing. I mean, Donnie was always after April and for all of a sudden, her to go for me just kinda freaked me out... But I'm glad I waited. I wanted us both to be ready. It isn't a contest, Mikey. You want to be certain about these type of things before you go too far."

"...but what if I never see Renet again? I guess asking you about all this doesn't matter in the long run especially considering the low chances I'll ever find anyone who could love me." the youngest turtle muttered sadly to his lap.

"Mikey. You'll find someone. Maybe it isn't Renet, but Mikey, if _I_ can find love, there's no doubt in my mind that you can too. It just takes time, little brother. You have your whole life ahead of you! There's no need to rush it." Raph said, the encouragement he gave easily to the smallest turtle with a firm pat on his shell.

"Really?" Mikey said and the hope in his voice stung Raphael deep in his chest.

"Yes." he said assuredly, his adorable little brother had so much love to give and there wasn't a doubt in Raphael's mind that he would find it. "Now, how about you and me head over to Murikami's for a late dinner of pizza gioza? My treat."

"Awesome!" Mikey shrilled, jumping up out of the fray of blankets and pillows to grab his winter wear.

Raphael smiled after his brother, thankful for these moments where he realized he wouldn't give up anything in his life for the world even if it meant occasional uncomfortable conversations.


	15. It's the Thought that Counts

**Afterglow**

 **Rated: T**

 **It** **'s the** **Thought that Counts**

 _Chapter Summary: Casey gives Raphael and April an unforgettable Christmas present - Part 1 of 2._

* * *

"Is this even legal?" April was the first to point out. You couldn't blame her though. This was a strange situation if there was one. It was mid-December and none other than Casey Jones called herself and Raphael up and told them to meet him at his local ice skating rink in the middle of the night.

"Of course it is, Red!" Casey was quick to defend, closing the door behind them after they all made their way into the back door.

" _Casey..._ " April said in warning, hating to be lied to.

"Chill, Red! I work here part time and the old guy who owns it; he used to be my team's hockey coach. I've known him since I was a kid and he always says that I'm welcome to skate when the place is closed. He even gave me the key, it's not like I'm picking the locks like I used to." Casey spewed, dangling said key but was just met with April's horrified expression before he continued, "I'm just kidding! Don't worry, girl, it's all good! Casey Jones would never steer ya wrong!" the young vigilante promised with one hand up and the other over his heart. "I swear!"

Raphael looked a bit out of sorts. He was a little apprehensive for what exactly Casey's intentions were - good or bad. He had about a million questions but doubted the vigilante could give a straight answer if his life depended on it. The red-banded terrapin looked around the ice skating rink and recalled the few times he'd previously been here to spend time with the masked hockey buff over the years. They were odd to say the least and what Casey's motive of asking him and April here in the middle of the night was definitely a mystery. A mystery he wanted solved quick; intending on threatening to pound Casey into the ground if he didn't start squealing.

"What's this about anyway, Case?" Raph grumbled, adjusting the scarf around his neck.

"Well, since your date didn't really go as planned last time..." Casey begun.

"You told him about that!?" April shrilled suddenly by Raph's side, eyes glaring angrily in betrayal toward her boyfriend. "Do I have to try and break your nose again!? On purpose this time!?"

"Yer girlfriend almost broke your nose, dude? You musta really fucked that date up." Casey asked, valiantly holding in the mirth he felt at that admission.

"Shut up, Casey, and no, April, I only told him it was a little weird! I swear!" Raph pleaded, hands up in surrender.

April was still glaring daggers but Casey was not about to let his brilliant plan go to waste if his two best friends started to get into a lover's spat. "Hey, guys, chill out. Let's just forget it. Listen. Whatever was said was said, but it's not important anymore. It's over with, so let's focus on now, kay? How about it? Truce?"

"Fine." April sighed, crossing her arms and looking back at her human friend.

"Okay. So, I was trying to decide what to get for ya guys for Christmas. I mean, you guys are my best friends and I thought what better way than giving you guys a date you won't soon forget?" Casey said proudly, smiling big at the confused couple.

"What the hell are you talking about, Jones?" Raph grumbled, brows ridged and furrowed in confusion.

"The ice rink! You guys can have a date here! There's no people around, you have all this privacy, and it's fun! I even brought you guys a pizza and jug of soda when you guys get hungry! This is my Christmas gift to both of you! So...do ya like it?" Casey asked excitedly, gesturing to the rink and a food booth with two pizza boxes and a bottle of soda next to them.

Their silence at his words was not exactly what Casey was expecting. He full on anticipated the praises and 'T _hanks for making our lives awesome, Casey! You're the best!'_ , but all he was met with was a set of blue and green eyes staring at him like he belonged in a straight jacket.

"What?" Raph asked again and Casey struggled not to groan in aggravation.

"Guys. I love ya both to death and this is my gift to you. To have a night together where you're not worried about anyone seeing you. You guys could be normal and just enjoy some time together away from anyone. If anyone deserves that - it's you two. You've been through a lot and I just wanted to do something special for y'all."

April's facade was the first to fall and a smile instantly brightened her face as she ran over to Casey to hug him. "Thank you, Casey! This is the sweetest thing ever!"

"Merry Christmas, Red. Now ya better stop huggin' me before Raph decides to pull my entrails out through my nose."

"Ugh. Can you be anymore disgusting?" April groaned pulling away from him but didn't miss her boyfriend's exclamation of " _Damn Straight._ "

"So, ya like it?"

"Not bad, Jones. Not bad at all." Raph said with a smirk, slapping Casey hard enough on his back to make the thin human grunt. "Thanks, dude. I owe ya one."

"Ya sure do. I expect a Harley motorcycle under my Christmas Tree this year." Casey smiled smugly with his gaped smile and a wink.

Raph smirked and shook his head

"Alright. There are a few ground rules before I head out. Um, I got you some skates, April. I left them over behind the food counter; just be sure to put 'em back before you head out."

"Sure."

"Uh, Raph, dude. Don't take this the wrong way, but you're feet are freakin' huge." Casey muttered and did a good job of hiding the nervousness when fire filled those green eyes. "Anyway, there's no skates that'll fit you, so I brought some padded bandages for you're feet so ya don't get frostbite."

Raph was apprehensive, but smiled when Casey took out the wrappings from his backpack, placing them in Raph's hands. _It's the thought that counts, right?_ He decided, smiling at the vigilante.

"Thanks, Case."

"No problem. Also, just before ya head out, clean up the pizza box and any plates or cups you might use. If ya could, shut the lights off. All the switches are by the exit so that should be easy enough...and I think that's all. You two have fun, kay. Just be outta here by 6am if you can. The doors will lock behind you so don't worry about keys or anything."

"Sure." Raph replied as Casey began packing up his own things. The couple watched as the vigilante walked over to the exit and their eyes widened when Casey swung around to face them.

"Oh, another thing - if ya guys decide to get a lil' freaky on the ice, please scrape anything off before it freezes."

"CASEY!" the couple screamed simultaneously in complete mortification, cheeks burning as Casey just gave a cocky smirk and began to exit.

"Joking. Hee-hee. Merry Christmas, dudes! Catch ya'll on the flip side!" the vigilante chuckled before closing the door and locking it behind him.

* * *

 **I was going to just make this drabble only one chapter but truth be told y'all, I feel like crap and didn't finish it, so I decided to make it into two chapters. Check out the second part next Saturday. Love y'all so much and thank you for all the kind reviews! You have no idea how much they mean to me! xoxo  
**


	16. Skate with Me

**Afterglow**

 **Rated: T**

 **Skate with Me**

Chapter Summary: _Casey gives Raphael and April an unforgettable Christmas present...and they thoroughly enjoy it- Part 2 of 2._

* * *

The mortification soon passed once the hockey vigilante left the building. April and Raph finally met each other's gaze with nothing more than an nervous smirk and flushed cheeks at Casey's parting words and all the thoughts that came with them.

"So..." they started at the same time and April laughed as she bumped him lightly with her shoulder.

"You first." April chuckled.

"Nah, you go ahead." Raph said, nudging her gently with an elbow.

"Okay, um... So, do you feel about this? Is this okay with you?" April asked. "I mean, if you want, we could probably just take the pizza and head out. If this whole thing makes you uncomfortable, we can just go. It's no problem."

"Aw, heck no. I mean, only if you don't want to stay."

"Casey did do a lot of work. I'd hate to undermine it. After all, it is kinda sweet."

"Sweet and Jones don't really mix, but I'll admit, it was a good effort. Yeah. So, what the heck? We might as well humor him." Raph replied with a shrug.

April just smiled in response, grasping his hand tightly as she tried to hide her own giddy excitement.

* * *

"Don't laugh. I haven't done this since I was a weird little kid with hideous pigtails and braces." April chuckled, grabbing the wall tightly in white-knuckled grasp while she walked upon the slick white surface; valiantly keeping her balance on the thin blades of metal.

"I bet you were still stinkin' cute." Raph chuckled, nuzzling her nose with his snout, nearly making the redhead lose her balance.

"Ah! Stop it!" April giggled and bumped him with her bony elbow.

"Besides, I never did this at all so you'll probably be the one laughing your ass off when I land right on my shell." Raph replied, not enjoying the feeling of slippery ice underneath his feet, even if they were protected with nice padded wrapping to keep the chill off. He'd never been happier to realize his feet were way too big for any normal human footwear or he'd be making an absolute fool of himself right now when he realized just how atrocious those skates were.

"We'll see about that." she said, bravely taking her hands off the railing, using her balance training with Master Splinter to successfully stand on the ice.

Raph stopped for a moment, taking in the sight of her. The beautiful lighting shining off the ice lit up her face perfectly. He could count every gorgeous freckle and curves of her features not to mention the adorable way she was biting her plump lower lip; nicely nestled between her white teeth. Even with her stance completely awkward as she fought to keep balance on the skates and her clothes consisting of just just jeans and a sweatshirt, Raphael swore she never looked better. His heart pounded in his chest as he took her in; how this amazing girl ever chose him, he'd never know.

"I think I got it!" April squealed suddenly, pushing herself with the tip of the skate but the trajectory couldn't make up for the lack of balance and she began to fall. "Waah!"

Within mil-seconds, Raphael had wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from collapsing into the hard ice.

April caught her breath, the security of his arms a comfort as she righted herself.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. Thanks. I guess I don't got it." April giggled in reply, holding the majority of he weight on him but slowly attempting to put more weight upon her skates. "Whew. Okay. I think I want to try again."

Raph just nodded his consent, making sure she was the first to let go. It was this moment he finally noticed he was standing on his own. He freaked out a moment in this new environment, his feet slipping slightly underneath his weight but his pride wouldn't let him show it. He stood his ground, getting a feel for the ice underneath his feet. If he could leap over rooftops and balance on an end of a pencil much like his younger days of training, he could sure as hell stand on some ice. They did live in New York after all, where nearly half of the year, there was patches of ice covering the streets. Then why did standing on this freak him the fuck out?

"You doing alright?" April smirked, laughing at Raphael's sudden silence as he did nothing much but stare at his feet.

"Huh? Yeah! I'm fine." Raph said with a laugh that reverberated deep in his throat; reaching over to grab her hand. "Ya ready to try this?" he asked, sounding a lot more confident than he felt.

"Mm-hmm." April quickly responded, pulling herself closer to him but making sure not to get her skates too close to his feet.

The first few moments were awkward to say the least. It consisted mostly of Raphael going at a snail's pace as he made his way over the ice on wobbly legs and April nearly face-planting a dozen times when she got too daring, but of course, Raphael easily caught her every time.

Soon enough, the two were gliding over the ice swiftly, getting their bearings upon the slippery surface. As strange this activity was for the both of them, they were quick learners and began having a lot more fun than either thought possible. Awkwardness at this whole situation melting away so they finally took this opportunity for what it was - some much needed time alone.

 _Maybe Casey's smarter than he looks..._ Raph chuckled internally, loving how fast he was gliding across the ice, the cool air whipping across his face not bothering him in the least. He wasn't sure what it was, but even being in this frigid building, literally surrounded by ice in the air-conditioned arena, he felt warmer than he had for awhile. Pondering this strange occurrence, he may have finally realized the reason when he noticed that he never let go of April's hand. The red-banded terrapin couldn't help but glance at their conjoined hands, his heart hammering pleasantly in his chest as he took in the contrast of her porcelain flesh against green scales. The size variance not bothering either of them in the least as her small warm hand was cradled so perfectly in his own as they continued for another circle around the ice.

The couple enjoyed the thrill of skating for half an hour, the time passing quickly for them both. When just gliding across the ice became too mundane, April started trying new techniques and gaining more confidence in her movements. She still held tight to his hand as he mimicked her motions; circling the rink over and over again. Raphael happily went along with her, just enjoying seeing her smile and being with her alone in what felt like forever. The sport was nonetheless tiring though. Especially for April in the tightly wrapped skates and using so many different muscles to keep balance, she began to slow.

Raphael took notice of her languid movements and quickly hatched a plan; smirk lifting his lips as he suddenly twirled her. She squeaked as she gently ran into his plastron, one hand nestled against his chest to regain her balance while the other remained firmly planted in his grasp.

April was happily in her own little world, basking in the adrenaline that came with a good workout and the way her heart hammered any time she was in her boyfriend's presence. It was absolutely exhilarating. While cliche perhaps, but she had seen her share of chick flicks and while their unrealistic aspects regarding romance was way off, in this moment, she believed they could be onto something. There was just something about this moment, whether it be the cool air, the fact they were alone, or just the fact they were together. It was like one of those perfect moments you never believe exist til you're in them. So lost in this world, April didn't even notice when she began to slow but her whole world started to spin the second she felt a strong tug on her arm. Within seconds, she had ran straight into his plastron, air slightly knocked out of her when she made contact with it.

Instead of being angry for thrusting her out of her moment; she laughed. One hand pressing over his chest and even through the thick plate, she felt the strong fast thrum of his heart against her palm.

"Hey!? What's the big idea?" April laughed, the cold air and exertion, as well as having Raphael this close, caused her cheeks to flush a bright rosey hue.

"Heh. Just wondering why you're pretty damn good at this. You sure you haven't been practicing behind my back?" Raphael commented, hand quickly brushing back a lock of her hair that came loose from her ponytail.

"I guess it's kinda like riding a bike. You never really forget..." April's face fell for a moment before the corners of her lips lifted up in vivid remembrance her childhood. "After all, skating was one of the last happy memories I had as a child..."

Raphael's brows furrowed the moment she admitted it - more concerned than anything.

Without speaking, the two started skating again, just languidly gliding across the ice, hands still remaining in a firm grasp. He was afraid of breaking any silence and wasn't exactly thrilled with how unbearably sad April had looked for a split second. While desperately wanting to break the silence, he felt massive relief when she began speaking a moment later, her strides along the ice nearly at a standstill.

"...do you remember the lake I took you to in Northampton?" April asked, turning to look at him. By now, her feet were completely still, one hand on the edge and the other still nestled in his own.

When Raphael nodded, she continued, her eyes glancing over to a fixed point anywhere but him.

"I lived there the first seven years of my life. It was just me, dad, and mom - while there were a few instances of random, sometimes crazy relatives coming over for holidays and such, it was mainly just _us_. Dad was gone a lot of the time for work - especially during winter, so a lot of my memories around this time of year consist of just my mom and me." April said, sighing softly before continuing, "Anyway, it was _so cold_ during that time of year, the lake would freeze over. When I was six, my mom starting teaching me how to skate on that lake. I loved skating with her... I recall so many winter days where we'd be skating sunrise to sunset - just laughing, talking, making snowmen, and drinking hot cocoa... The next spring was when she disappeared. Me and my dad moved to the city after that... I dunno, I think that's why I avoided skating for so long." April admitted, finally looking at her boyfriend to weigh his reaction. She flinched when his arms suddenly wrapped around her.

It was then she felt the sudden wetness upon her face.

Tears she had believed long since dried since that warm morning all those years ago. It was something about this that just drove it to the surface - the pain of losing a parent was something you truly never got over... She wasn't sure if it was being back on the ice - so close to the time of year she used to treasure the most with her mom or just wishing for her to be there. To see the woman she'd become - to introduce her to Raph, to his family... The years that passed since her disappearance were many, but April believed the pain would ever truly go away... While she craved to make new memories with her mom, she treasured the ones she had.

"I'm so sorry." he whispered against her ear, hands rubbing comforting circles on her back.

"Don't be..." April sniffled, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her face in the concave of his throat. "I'm fine, Raph. Seriously."

He pulled away a moment later, his eyes confused as he took in her face.

"I'm crying because I'm happy." she laughed softly at the utter confusion lacing his face. "It's a good memory - a happy memory... One I guess I forgot about til now..." April was silent for a moment, brushing the tears out of her eyes before speaking again, "I miss her. I miss her a lot - but she'd _want_ me to have fun, enjoy life, and go on; and I am. I have been. As painful as it is to remember those memories, I love skating and I should keep doing it even if brings up painful reminders of her sometimes. I guess I just feel bad because I missed out for so long... Anyway, I'm sorry, I'm just rambling, honey. I'm... Um - _Thank you -_ for doing this with me, Raphael. I haven't had fun like this in such a long time. Thanks..." she muttered, pressing her face into his throat and just holding onto him.

Raphael was quiet for a moment, taking in every word she just spoke. He had known her past but seeing how upbeat she always was, it was easy to forget just how hard her life had been before he met her. Her life had been growing up isolated with only her parents - than tragically losing her mom and moving from a place she loved to a cruel city that she didn't understand. Having few friends who accepted her - including Irma who was a ploy all along. She had just as many if not more hardships than him growing up and yet, she smiled, laughed, and trudged on even when life threw her through the mud.

In Northampton, she was the glue - she made sure all of them were taken care of and needs met - Raph hated making the comparison, but she was like a mom during all that. She took care of everyone without ever thinking about herself - there were days she gave up her own portion of meals to make sure everyone else was well fed. That instance with that Kraang droid pretending to be her mother was the worst...he remembered her cries that night and still had a hard time forgetting them - but yet, the next morning, she was smiling and humming while making breakfast. The strength this beautiful woman has just shook him to the core. While not the strongest physically, she had more strength of spirit and character that he couldn't even begin to understand.

April pulled away from his neck a moment later and looked at him. It was as if he was looking at her for the first time. Her big blue eyes searching his as everything around them remained still as night. His heartbeat pounding in his ears as his eyes searched her face, felt her warmth, and came to the realization that he was going to do everything in his power to make her happy for the rest of his life. How incredibly lucky he was to have her love him - give everything of herself to him willingly. He'd never been more humbled by this gift of having her in his life.

"I love you." he spoke softly and April froze.

Wide eyes staring directly into those beautiful green irises as he said it. April's heart pounded against her sternum and she swore she felt Raphael's heart doing the same. The world disappeared around them. The cold that had been visceral in broad waves melted away and the warmth between them was all she felt. As crappy as her life had been in those years after her mom left, she doubted she would have changed one thing. All of this had lead her here - whether it be God or fate that brought her here - she was thankful for it. Thankful to have this big lug in her life regardless of all the crap knowing him brought with it.

April quickly let go of his hand only to wrap it around his shoulders, burrowing her face against the hallow of his throat, she nasally replied, "...I love you too..."

* * *

"Here we are." Raph said, lifting her bedroom window quietly so she could safely make her way into her apartment.

"Thanks, Raph. Tonight was great." April replied, remaining by the window. Wishing she could invite him to stay but wouldn't risk it with her father sleeping just down the hall.

"Yeah. Heh. Hate to admit it, but I owe Casey big time." he chuckled, hands resting upon the window sill.

"Me too." April laughed.

She froze upon feeling him softly cup her cheek, his hands surprisingly warm pressed against her cold windswept cheek. In an instant, his mouth was upon hers, the kiss chaste and quick. When he parted, he smiled and she smiled back. No words needed to be said when he waved and April watched him quickly disappear back into the night.


	17. All I Want for Christmas is You

**Afterglow**

 **Rated: T**

 **All I Want For Christmas is You**

 _Chapter Summary: Merry Christmas from Raph and April!_

* * *

 **I cannot begin to thank all of you for all the kind reviews, faves and follows you all have given me! I hope you have a wonderful and very Merry Christmas! I** **'ll see you next year!** **xoxoxo**

* * *

"April. You didn't have to..." Raphael blubbered adorably, holding the box in his lap and cradling it as if it was another one of those pigeons he loved so much.

"Of course I didn't _have_ to - I **wanted** to, silly. Merry Christmas." April quickly replied, used to his denial of needing or wanting anything she'd gifted to him over the years. It was just who he was and she wouldn't trade it for the world.

"Thanks." he whispered warmly, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek before looking back down at the present.

"You can thank me after you open it." April chuckled in response, feeling the warmth fill her chest when he turned and looked at her with that gorgeous smile tugging the edges of his lips upward.

 _Such a beautiful contrast_ , April thought; the bright red paper melded nicely into his emerald skin and it dawned on her just how good her boyfriend looks in red - feeling stupid for questioning the signature color at all. April continued to watch him turn his attention back to the box in his hand - and while he hid it quite nicely, she could tell he was obviously enamored with the present she'd given him. A smile lighting up her face at his reaction - it brought to mind their first Christmas together...

* * *

" _Merry Christmas." Raph said, his nervousness reeking off of him in waves as he stood on the sill of her bedroom window._

 _April quick glance at her clock told her he wasn't wrong - it was in fact, after midnight, so technically, he was right._

 _They had been dating for about half a year and had just gotten back to New York recently. It was mass chaos dealing with the clean-up and her dad her virtual shadow ever since, so being alone with Raph was just not only difficult - it was damn near impossible. So, for him to show up in the middle of the night, Christmas Eve to be exact, was a strange, albeit welcome, sight indeed._

" _Raph... Hey. Merry Christmas. Um, wanna come in?" April asked, ignoring the snowflakes making their way onto her carpet as well as the frigid breeze they were riding on._

 _The red-banded terrapin looked around nervously and April was sure that if her beloved boyfriend had sweat glands, there would be bullets of the stuff dripping off his face._

" _You sure?" he asked timidly._

 _There it was. The nervousness. The uncertainty she'd realized he'd had very quickly developed during their relationship. Someone who seemed so self assured (Watch this, April...) and cocky (Yer turn, April?) and spoken with nothing more than a smug smirk was torn down the second they were alone. While he wasn't very nervous while they'd kissed and petted - it was only whenever there was even a hinting it would go farther, he bolted - excuses going from needing the bathroom to having to go dumpster diving for new computer parts for Donnie. April knew he was just putting up an act of bravado underneath the surface but April understood and never intended to point it out. Not yet being intimate with him was frustrating, but she wanted to wait til they were both good and ready before even taking their relationship to the next level. After all, his nervousness from someone so brave and brash was unbelievably adorable - so for him, she was willing to wait.  
_

" _Of course, Raph. Come on in." April said more surely than she felt. After all, she wasn't the tidiest room-keeper and with the repairs still going on, the cleanliness of her room left a lot to be desired. But at least her bed was cleared off and most of the junk was in one corner of the room out of the walking areas._

" _Where's yer dad?" he asked, quietly making his way into her room. He dusted the thin layer of snow off his skin and began removing his damp knee and elbow padding._

" _Asleep like most of the city should be." April chuckled in response, clearing off more room off her desk so he could lay down his weapons._

" _Cool. Can we go to the living room?"_

" _Any reason why we can't just stay here?" April asked innocently and quickly realized her mistake when Raphael's eyes bulged and he began wringing his hands nervously._

" _Uh, I'm still a bit wet from the snow. I-I wouldn't want ya to get yer bedding all ruined." he explained and of course, it was a good point, but if they left her room, her father would more than likely hear them from his room on the other end of the apartment._

" _No, it's fine. I'm getting new stuff anyway - a little snow won't hurt." April said by way of explanation, hoping he'd take the bait and stay here._

" _You sure?"_

" _It's fine, Raph. Come on." April said, leaving no time for him to respond as she tightly grasped his hand and led him to her bed. Without preamble, she flopped onto the soft comforter, her hands gracefully folded in her lap as she stared at her boyfriend expectantly to join her. He stood stiffly by the bed, bottom lip between his teeth._

" _Something wrong?" April asked a moment later when she felt the rising panic upon his hesitation._

" _Mind if I towel off first...please?" he finished adorably, eyes wide and hands nervously wringing in front of his body._

" _Sure. There's an extra towel in my bathroom."_

" _Thanks." he said, making a bee-line for her bathroom and disappearing into the darkened room. April waited patiently, lip tugged between her teeth as she tried to qualm the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. She thought dating him would calm these feelings but if anything, they only intensified. April prided herself on being outspoken and stubborn but there was something about Raphael that always left her stomach and knots and tongue-tied._

" _Hey." Raphael's voice broke her from her reverie as he appeared again in her sights, sitting down next to her but not close enough to instigate touch._

" _Hey, yourself. So, what brings you here this fine Christmas morning?" April chuckled softly, fingers craving to reach out for his own but remained still in her lap._

" _I thought since we'd be with the whole group tomorrow, we wouldn't get to spend much one-on-one time together...and I wanted to give you this." Raph spoke, reaching into his belt to pull out a small box wrapped messily in newspaper and a little wet from the rain, but April was certain she never saw anything more beautiful._

" _Raph. You didn't have to..." April breathed, hand fisted over her heart, which felt as if was going to beat right out of her chest._

" _I wanted to." he replied. "Besides, you already gave me mine yesterday and I wanted to give this to you when we're alone. Ya know, without the guys giggling and crap." Raph continued, fingering at the scarf he was wearing that she'd gifted to him a few hours prior at his family's Christmas Eve party._

" _That's true... Thanks." she whispered as he placed the long thin box in her hands._

" _You should open it before you start thanking me - never know - you may hate it." he chuckled, teasingly brushing his shoulder against hers._

" _Never." she spoke seriously, bravely leaning over to give him a long languid kiss on his cheek. Pulling away, she smiled at the soft brush of red across his cheekbones; the color blending in nicely with his bandanna._

 _April looked back down at the small box, gently began pulling apart the paper until a white box was revealed. When she opened the small container, she felt her heart skip a beat at the contents. A Tessen. Unlike the one Splinter gifted her with during her ninja training, this one was a beautiful blend of dark black metal and red painted metal accents around the edges. She picked it up out of the box as if it was a fragile piece of glass, the cool metal felt so natural in her hand as she opened the fan. Over the course of a minute, she began holding it as she was trained, flicking it easily in her wrist and turning it around only to see carved Japanese Kanji on the other side._

" _This is beautiful, Raphael..."_

" _You really like it?"_

" _It's amazing! Thank you!" she said, hugging him as he awkwardly returned it with one arm. "Did you make this?" April continued in astonishment when he replied with a quick nod._

" _Wow! It must have took you forever!"_

 _She noticed how Raph tried to hide his obvious bandaged wrapped fingers. "Nah...It wasn't too bad and while I wanted to just give Casey some money to buy you something nice, I thought it would be more personal if I made it...and make something you something you could actually use."_

" _Wow... Thank you. Um - S-so...what does it say?" she asked, gesturing to the Japanese characters upon the shaft._

" _It's hageshī seishin... it means 'Fierce Spirit'." he spoke softly, tracing the engraved metal characters. "I dunno, it was lookin' kinda plain after I finished it. Thought it could use a little more...flair. Heh, and uh... I dunno, I thought it really fits you." he finished, looking and gazing into her bright blue eyes._

 _It was the very first moment she finally admitted to herself this relationship she had with Raphael was deeper than she ever could have imagined. While there was heaps of physical attraction and an easy friendship wrapped in a tight little bow - this was more than that. Her chest ached in the most wonderful way as she realized just how much she loved him. For him to give her something so meaningful and thoughtful was the greatest thing she could have ever asked for. As she continued gazing into those beautiful green eyes, she came to the conclusion that she wanted to be with this turtle forever._

 _Instead of words, she told him by leaning forward and kissing his mouth, one hand cradling his cheek as she did so. Raph flinched at the contact at first but he quickly returned it, adjusting his mouth to fit hers. While their kissing was clumsy and wet the first few times they ever kissed, he soon learned the best ways to pucker his lips in order to kiss her much smaller mouth with ease._

 _April pulled away just seconds later, her cheeks flushed and bright red as she stared deeply into his eyes._

" _Will you stay with me tonight?" April whispered against his mouth, taking notice of the tremor that went through him upon her insinuation."I mean, I wouldn't want you to catch a cold heading back. It's freezing out there." April continued, her cheeks flushing._

" _It's not that bad." Raph chuckled, and as if on cue, sleet began pounding against her bedroom window with a frightful thudding noise as the whistle of the harsh winds could not be ignored. "Uh... I just think I better head back..." he replied, hands wringing in his lap._

" _Please? You can sleep with me. I mean - sleep! You know - just sleep..." April finished, hoping he didn't notice just how much blood was rushing into her cheeks._

 _Raph bit his lip in thought for a moment before responding with a terse nod._

" _Great. Thank you." April smiled at him, quickly moving to place her gift upon her desk before making her way back to the bed. After she was warm underneath the covers, she couldn't help but watch him as he removed the rest of his wrappings and belt before he joined her on the other side of the bed._

" _You sure?" Raph asked, the covers pulled back in preparation for him to slide next to her._

 _April responded with a small nod and a smile, patting the mattress next to her in invitation._

 _Although nervous and heart pounding what felt like a million miles an hour, Raphael slowly made his way into her bed. Internally hating just how much his weight made the bed creak and dip. Nervously smiling as he finally got comfortable, he held back his protests when April scooted closer, wrapping her thin arms around his shoulders._

" _Merry Christmas...Thanks for the gift, Raphael. It was very thoughtful." the redhead breathed into his cool skin, her nose rubbing against his pulse point._

 _Raph's nervousness dissipating at her softly spoken words, his arms wrapping tightly around her body. "You're welcome." he replied against the side of her head._

 _"Merry Christmas." April whispered, pulling back from him for a moment - her hands shaking a bit as she leaned in and kissed him goodnight. Their lips lingered, pushing and pulling against another. Raphael broke it before he completely lost control over his sudden urges._

 _"Heh. You too - Merry Christmas, I mean." Raph chuckled and April giggled against his lips, head nestling into the concave of his throat. Arms timid around her form as she snuggled against him and quickly fell asleep. This being the first night they slept together, Raph thought his heart would explode out of his chest, but the nervousness soon gave away to the lethargy. Listening to her deep breaths and the comfort of her warmth was too soothing to ignore. Eyes drooping, he soon fell into the most relaxing sleep either had ever experienced - right in each others arms...  
_

* * *

"Wow." Raph chuckled, bringing April out of her flashback. A smile lifting her face as she took in his excitement of unwrapping the gift she had given him. "This is awesome, April!" he continued, emptying the box of its contents. She watched with bated breath as he removed the leather belt with finely stitched pockets to store his sais and other weapons, the dark brown leather with dark red stitching melded beautifully with the yellowish-gold of his plastron and forest green shell.

Raph was too busy admiring his new belt, going as far as taking his current one off to place the new one on that he completely missed the smaller box wrapped in bright green paper still lying untouched in the box.

"What's this lil' pouch for?" Raph asked, fingers poking into a small area on his side.

"Check the box again and find out."

"Huh?" he asked, walking back over to the bed and his eyes widened at seeing the other item that remained. After unwrapping it, he stilled, fingers brushing over the beautiful pocket knife. The gold metal with dark red kanji, spelling out a word meaning _'Strength'_ engraved upon it. "April...Wow, this if gorgeous. You didn't have..." noticing her eyebrows lifted in warning at his phrasing before deciding on, "Thank you..."

"You're welcome." April replied with a smile, gently removing the blade from his hands and placing it in the pocket of the belt. "There we are - it fits perfectly."

Raph's hand gravitated toward her waist, grasping her softly along her hips as she stood in front of him. He struggled not to say something cheesy like ' _...and you fit perfectly in my arms...'_ but he didn't want to ruin the moment. After all, he was still amazed at how lucky he was to have her. While Splinter had made sure to make their mutation days special, Christmas was the one thing they didn't have growing up. Later on when things became more abundant, Splinter gave them necessities and new weapons to celebrate this time of year. It changed when April came in their lives. From that day forward, holidays were celebrations with new food other than worms and algae - there was festive times just being together - giving and getting presents and spending with with those you loved most.

"It sure does..." Raphael decided on saying, pulling her into a hug, which she eagerly returned.

"I'm glad you like it."

"I love it."

"Hmm...So...Um, Raph?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to spend the night?" April asked, hating just how quickly her cheeks flushed even after so long together.

"Hrm... Sure. Why not?" he answered quickly, leaning down to give her a quick, chaste kiss.

April pulled away with a smile, giving him another quick peck before she made her way to the side of her bed and sliding underneath the covers. Enthralled with her favorite pastime of getting to watch her sexy boyfriend taking off his padding, new belt, and weapons and placing them upon her dresser.

Feigning sleep, she hid her smile as he crawled into bed next to her. Her countenance fell and she giggled when he pulled her close and nuzzled his snout in her loose hair.

"Heh. This is just like last year, huh?" Raph whispered against her lips before leaning down to kiss them much deeper this time.

"Not exactly..." she replied, gently encouraging him to roll over on top of her. Pulling his head towards her, lips eagerly pressing over his again and again as her hands taking their sweet time rubbing long languid strokes against his glorious biceps and shoulders.

"Oh, really? What's different this time?" Raph growled lowly, nipping at her neck.

"Well, for starters, my dad's in California...and...this time...we're _not_ just going to sleep..." April mumbled against his mouth, pulling him down for an intense kiss. Raph chuckled, hands eagerly re-learning her body strictly through touch at her words.

"Sounds good to me..." he chuckled, nuzzling his nose against hers. He pulled away for just a moment, taking in her bright blue eyes and loose hair strewn about her light blue pillow. The atmosphere of bright lights pouring in through the window and the big flakes of snow falling only adding to the moment. _"Merry Christmas, love..."_ he breathed, grasping her softly, one arm pressed to her back and other to her head and pulling her in for a kiss and the start of the Christmas Eve neither would ever forget.

* * *

 **Merry Christmas, y'all! xoxo**


	18. Kiss Me at Midnight

**Afterglow**

 **Kiss Me at Midnight**

 **Rated: T**

 _Chapter Summary: It_ _'s New Years Eve and April was getting a New Year's Eve kiss whether Raph wants to or not - little does she know, he's two steps ahead of her._

* * *

 **This chapter happened within like twenty minutes. I did not plan at all to do a New Years chapter but it just came out and I liked it, so enjoy! I hope y'all have a wonderful New Years!**

* * *

It was cliche.

God, it was the most trivial, pointless, gooey, and nauseatingly romantic thing about New Years Eve - and that of course, is kissing your significant other on the exact moment of midnight. Yeah, it had absolutely no significance and was just like any other kiss would be like at any other moment during any time of the year, but fuck, she _needed_ it.

April had already missed out last year since that New Years Eve included a particularly bad crime wave and Raphael was out all night on patrol; so, this year, dammit, she was getting a freakin' New Year's kiss whether Raphael wanted it or not.

Bring this to the current time where herself, Raphael, all of his brothers, not to mention Splinter and Casey all spread out over the living room. April felt herself growing desperate the closer it got to midnight; she highly doubted Raph would appreciate exchanging saliva right in front of his brothers, best friend, and father. It probably wouldn't go over very well...

 _Dammit..._ April growled internally, spiting the clock hands that grew closer to the ting of midnight. Completely enthralled in finding a lapse in conversation to drag Raphael away was impossible and the minutes just kept clicking by.

 **11:49** the bright red numbers flickered at her; the mocking flash of time slipping by grating on her last damn nerve.

The redhead took a deep breath, glancing back to the television where the annual dropping of the ball was taking place. Sure, they could have just walked down the street to see it, but with the cold weather mixed with four reptiles was hardly a good mix. She didn't feel Raphael's eyes on her face as she impassively watched the New Years Eve special. The disappointment at the fact it was just not going to happen quickly dampened her good mood as she nestled herself further into her beanbag.

Another quick glance at the clock and the last five minutes left in 2015 - it was probably not the best time to be sour about a single damn kiss - after all, it had been the best year of her life so far. She gathered that was most likely the reason she wanted the midnight kiss so bad. Yeah, it was full of its up and down just like all the other years before, but this year was special; her and Raphael were closer than ever. Sparing him a look, she smiled at his profile, the television light illuminating off his skin. It's a wonderful thing to find your soulmate; an occasion most people would never get to experience, and here she was, only 19 years of age positive she already found hers.

It was enough.

Sure, a midnight kiss would have been great; would have been fan- _fucking_ -tastic - but, it is what it is and whining about it was just plain selfish on her part.

With that thought, April smiled, eyes glancing up back to the television and the happiness of the holiday with her family was good enough for her.

That's why it shocked her so badly when Raphael suddenly grasped her hand. Without any explanation, he pulled her to her feet and began pulling her out of the living room and in the darkness, none of the fellow occupants really didn't seem to notice or care as the two left the room.

"What's going on? Is everything alright?" April asked in a hushed whisper, trailing behind the reptile as he headed toward the turnstiles; hand loosely held enough to be let go but she still didn't release it.

"Here. Put this on." Raph vaguely answered, handing her her jacket and scarf before hurriedly putting his own on.

"What the heck, Raphael? It's almost midnight. Where are we going?"

"Just put it on. Come on - gotta hurry." he replied, not even waiting for her to follow him or even time to ask for an explanation as he jumped over the turnstiles and out into the sewers.

April was frozen in place for a moment - the sheer strangeness and quickness of events was almost too much for her. It took her a whole 30 seconds for her to even realize he wasn't standing in front of her anymore; it wasn't until she heard his singsong " _O'Neil_ " from down in the sewers that her brain finally caught up.

"Dammit, Raph! Wait!" April called after him, throwing her jacket on and following after her boyfriend.

Once she finally caught up to him, she didn't even have a second to think before he grabbed her around the waist and was climbing up the nearest manhole. The cold air was harsh on her face as soon as he lifted her through the circular opening; the breeze only lasted a second before she squeaked in surprise when he flew up the nearest fire escape and onto the top of the building.

April's breath caught for a moment as she took in her surroundings. The ball-dropping ceremony was a few blocks away, but the building was so tall, it was the perfect view of it. Her mouth finally on par with her brain had her turning to her quiet terrapin boyfriend. The words died on her tongue when the countdown began.

 _ **TEN...NINE...EIGHT...**_

April peered off the edge and saw the crowds and mass of humanity on the streets below, the streets blocked off and all eyes turned on the golden ball atop the building.

 _ **SEVEN...SIX...FIVE...**_

She smiled, taking in the moment - all the couples just looking so happy. Getting to be here and see it live instead of the small twenty inch television screen with bad reception.

 _ **FOUR...THREE...TWO...**_

So lost in the moment, it wasn't until the last second she turned back to her boyfriend and smiled - and her heart nearly stopped when she suddenly found herself in his strong arms, the warmth exuding in waves from his sheer proximity.

 _ **ONE! - HAPPY NEW YEAR!**_

Raphael's mouth met hers the second the ball fell; lips pressing firmly upon her own and April swore her chest was going to explode from the sheer emotion contained in that one kiss. Her eyes closed and she just melted; melted into his arms, lips melding into his as her arms fell limply over his shoulders in a vain attempt to hold herself up. Legs virtual jelly underneath her but she couldn't find herself to give a single crap in this moment. Smiling against his mouth, April tightened her arms around his neck, kissing him with all she was worth as the sounds of the crowd and cheers melted into complete silence, this one perfect moment engraving itself on her mind and heart forever.

Yeah, it was just as cliche and cheesy as a bad romantic comedy, but for her, this was reality - and she wouldn't trade it for the world.

* * *

 **Happy 2016! Hope this is your best year yet! xoxo**


	19. Passion (NSFW)

**Afterglow - Chapter 19  
**

 **Passion**

 **Rated: M**

 _Chapter Summary: Things between our favorite couple get a little...intense._

* * *

 **I bet you** **'re all thinking "Finally! Another sex chapter!" ...No? Just me? Oh well. I almost made it to ten chapters without smut, so I thought it was begging for some naughtiness at this point. I reiterate, this is another M rated chapter; y'all have been warned, so if you don't like graphic sex scenes, I suggest you go check out a different chapter.**

 **If you're still here, gonna let you know that things are about to get a little...** _ **frisky**_ **... considering there's** _ **three**_ **separate sex scenes. Hope y'all enjoy this one since, sadly, there probably won't be another smutty chapter for awhile. I hope this temporarily satisfies you all - there's a lot of story coming up that has to be done...wish me luck.**

 **(Also, this takes place just moments when the previous chapter left off.)**

* * *

The evening had started innocently enough.

It was only a quarter passed midnight when April and Raphael found themselves returning back through the same turnstiles they had left just moments prior. The lair was dark, most of the former occupants of the living room had retired to bed; It was dark, but Raph was careful to notice they weren't exactly alone when he spotted Casey conked out on the couch with Mikey on the floor, his soft, whistle-like snores punctuating each breath he took. Other than that, it appeared none of the occupants noticed their departure, for which Raphael was extremely grateful - last thing he wanted to come back to find was Leo or Splinter demanding to know where they'd went.

The last thing he wanted tonight was an interrogation.

April smiled at the quiet scene, grasping Raphael's hand and luring him in for a kiss - seemingly sensing his inner turmoil.

"Walk me home?" she whispered once her lips pulled away from his own; soft palm caressing and cupping the reptile's cheek.

"Sure." Raph readily agreed with soft peck to her lips.

Back off into the night, the two opted to linger in the sewers to avoid the frigid air outside for as long as possible. It was ten minutes before they found a close enough manhole cover - once through the opening, they made sure the coast was clear before heading up the nearest fire escape to her apartment. Now in front of her kitchen window, April pried it open it before gracefully climbing through.

Raph froze outside the window, waiting mostly just to give her a goodnight kiss when April turned to face him again. Gingerly grasping his tattered red mask tails, she pulled him in for a kiss. The action swift and languid and the passion behind such a kiss almost left him completely breathless. When she pulled away, Raphael was full on just to bid her goodnight and leave, but something about the way she continued to look and touch him made his tongue virtual lead in his mouth. Swallowing the sudden lump that clogged his throat, he nodded in an attempt to pry her hands away from his mask tails, but April's hands didn't let up.

The red-banded terrapin stared at his girlfriend in sheer confusion when the redhead asked in an overtly sensual whisper, "Where do you think you're going?"

Raph continued to be stone cold silent, staring at her in bewilderment.

It didn't take long for April to make her intent crystal clear when she pulled him closer, mouth ghosting over his as she whispered, "My dad's still in California..."

The news shocked him a bit, recalling the redhead informing him that her dad was on his way home the previous night.

"Wha?" he asked, his confused expression was nothing short of adorable.

"Dad just called me tonight and said the conference had been extended for three more days, which means you're not going anywhere..." she whispered, smiling at him before bringing him in for another heated kiss, biting that sexy pouty lower lip of his.

It was enough to take Raphael over the edge, literally.

The intensity between them had accelerated at such an alarming rate as he suddenly found himself clumsily lumbering into the window. The desperation clawed into his shell as he pushed his tongue into her mouth, the humid cavern urging both of them to lose themselves to the sudden spike of lust that suddenly took over. Feet somewhat still mobile, they began moving, as if they couldn't make it to the bedroom swiftly enough; stumbling through the apartment listlessly tripping over random objects in their way. Raphael's grasping onto enough clarity in order make sure to carefully guide her through the maze of tables and walls until crossing the threshold of her bedroom door, miraculously, without tumbling to the floor.

The couple were still kissing as jackets, scarfs, clothes, and other items began scattering in all directions til April was left in her panties and Raphael didn't even bother with taking off his mask; finally plopping down on the soft comforter in a tangle of limbs.

Things were so hot and heavy at this point, Raphael got her off by simply stroking quick, masterful fingers through the thin satin fabric of her underwear. Not even caring to remove the garment, he just brushed the annoyingly obstructive cloth to the side and entered her in one quick thrust of his hips. April screamed lustfully toward the ceiling; head falling back and short nails digging painfully into thickly-muscled shoulders upon the stroke of the tip of his penis hitting her cervix.

The first few thrusts were uneven and shallow, but soon enough, instinct took over and a rhythm was established. With her legs tight around his waist, he pushed into that wet, tight coil over and over again, plunging deeper every time; moans punctuating every swift thrust of his hips. April quickly pulled him down over her, pressing her face into his neck and in pure euphoria, bit down gently into the skin, causing a primal growl to rumble from in between her boyfriend's lips.

Biting him must have done something incredible because he began to pound fiercely into her cunt, not even letting up when a sudden orgasm had her breathing his name against his emerald green skin. Certain her hips were being bruised by the sheer force in which he was fucking her but she couldn't care less at this point, riding wave after wave of ecstasy; toes curled and heels dug into his carapace.

Head board slamming in rhythm with his powerful thrusts against the walls went unheard as her pussy clenched around his penis, squeezing his cock firmly in all of that tight heat. It all become too much for the terrapin to continue and in a culmination of pure passion, Raphael buried himself as deep as he could inside of her; being sure to hold her still, not allowing her any leeway as his molten semen erupted into her womb. His churr was loud and resounding, even if it was muffled into the pillow by her head.

The warmth of his sperm coating her insides had April tumbling over the edge of pleasure again, her teeth digging into his shoulder while coming down from her sex-fueled high.

For a long while, the two remained still, complete shock at what had just occurred.

Sure, it was definitely the shortest lovemaking session they had ever had, but the sheer intensity was something neither of them had never come close to experiencing before. It was almost torturous for them both when Raphael's penis softened before retreating back into the confines of his shell yet he still didn't roll off of her.

In fact, he was almost ready to go again when her warm wet tongue darted out and began lapping lovingly at the bite mark she had just made.

"You sure yer not part turtle?" Raphael chuckled, the sudden break in silence had April peering up at him.

"Hmm?" she asked lethargically.

"You bit me." he replied with a smirk, lowering his head to temptingly nip at her sweaty neck.

"Hee-hee. Mmm... Well, it was either bite you or scream so loud the neighbors would be forced to call the police on us." April laughed right along with him, flicking her tongue over his bite mark yet again.

"Nah. They should be used to it by now. Heh." he chuckled, hiding the fact that her ministrations were driving him fucking crazy but reluctantly, he had to admit, the fatigue and desperate need for sleep was beginning to finally beckon him. After all, it was already passed two in the morning and he'd been up since five - he highly doubted he could go again without outright passing out on top of her. In sudden realization, Raphael grudgingly rolled off of her when he didn't trust himself to be able to hold his weight off of her much longer..

April squeaked when his weight plopping on the mattress caused her to jump in the air; giggling as she curled herself against his side. "Tired are we?" she asked softly into his throat, kissing the mark yet again. It was quiet for awhile before she continued, "Hey, Raph?"

"Hrm?" he mumbled, fighting off the fatigue that always accompanied post-coital romps.

"If it's a turtle thing to bite during sex - why haven't you ever bit me?" April asked, the forlorn and almost frustrated tone was not one the red-banded terrapin expected.

"...Wait - What?"

"You just said turtles bite during sex, but you never bit me. Why is that?" April asked with a sigh, propping herself up to be able to look down at his face.

"Easy. I didn't wanna hurt ya. Heh." the terrapin replied with a chuckle and shrug of his broad shoulders. "Other than that reason, I really don't know. Truthfully, I don't know if it's really a turtle thing, or some other kinda instinct and in all honestly, I didn't realize it til the first time when we had sex - I had this incredible urge to bite you all of a sudden, but I didn't. I just assumed maybe it was some leftover turtle thing. I am still an animal after all." he chuckled, leaning up to kiss her forehead.

"You know...You can if you want to.. I trust you..." April spoke gently, leaning over his face to kiss his mouth.

"Sounds good. Maybe I'll try it tomorrow..."

"Why not now?" she whispered, nuzzling her face against his own.

"Even a mutant turtle has his limits, babe. I'm totally beat. Heh. Don't want to fall asleep in the middle of it." Raphael grumbled sleepily, barely able to hold his eyelids open.

"Nope. Can't have that happening."

"Thanks for being so understanding."

"You're welcome. After all, you'll make it up to me tomorrow, right?"

"Count on it." he growled, nuzzling her neck with his snout; head falling back to the pillows and his eyes slipping shut.

April smiled at his slack face for a moment; leaning in to kiss his eyelids before resting her head on his firm bicep and falling asleep soon after.

* * *

Consciousness was sudden, the sound of harsh winds blowing against her window pane caused the redhead to clumsily sit up in bed. Wiping the remaining sleep that clung to her eyelids like spiderwebs, she took a glance at the source of the noise. If it was any other day, April would have deplored the amount of snow pummeling in massive flakes from the sky at only nine in the morning. But she was positive today was going to be different. Stealing a quick glance at her boyfriend who was still dead to the world - the normally light sleeper hadn't even moved when she stirred and April wanted to relish in this rare opportunity.

As much as she wanted to lean over and kiss him, she didn't want to risk waking up her slumbering boyfriend, so she resisted that temptation. Slowly rising from the mattress, immediately removing her underwear, yet she still felt the residual dampness on her crotch; April decided it would be optimum to quickly freshen up before anything else.

Once fresh and clean and making sure Raphael was still residing in dreamland, she quietly wrangled an oversized cotton tee over her head and wandered to the kitchen. Taking a quick glance around the small space, she absentmindedly grabbed the small black apron hanging on a nearby hook and donned it; deciding making a big breakfast would be a great way to start the day and hopefully the smell of food would be enough to wake up her boyfriend.

April was not the greatest chef by any standard- she could admit that - but she could whip up some mean hash browns, bacon, and eggs. So enthralled in her task, the redhead didn't hear nor sense Raphael enter the room; leaning against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest and the look of absolute adoration on his love-struck face.

Raphael couldn't help but beam at the pretty redhead. Her hair tied in a messy ponytail and wearing nothing but a long plain white t-shirt and black apron - she was fucking gorgeous to say the least. He still didn't want to blow his cover as he continued to watch her work, hands deftly grating potatoes, whipping eggs, and tending sizzling bacon. He still didn't understand how he managed to win her heart - but wasn't about to question it as he made his way toward her; not bothering to mask his steps in an effort not to startle her. When he was in close proximity, the first thing he did was wrap his arms around her waist and pressed his face into the nape of her neck, lightly nipping at her skin.

"Mornin'" Raph growled in a raspy voice into her skin, causing April to laugh giddily; abandoning her task as she maneuvered her hands to grasp at his arms that encircled her tiny waist.

"Good morning." April replied, turning her head in order to look at him. Deftly trying to ignore his roaming hands that began eagerly ghosting over her breasts and trailing lower by the second. "Ooh...a little eager this morning, are we?" April continued, wiggling her brows at the sexy turtle.

"What can I say? Nothing gets me hotter than seeing a woman at the stove." he teased, gently pinching a pebbled nipple through her thin cotton tee while pressing his groin firmly against her sexy, pert ass.

"Sexist asshole." April admonished him with no malice, laughing when he suddenly began blowing raspberries into her ticklish neck. Not being able to hold back a moan when he suddenly trailed his other hand and cupped her clothed mound. Her hands only encouraged his own, lifting up the shirt for him.

Raph smirked upon feeling her smooth, bare cunt underneath his hand. "Wow...No panties, O'Neil? Here you thought _I_ was the eager one..." he couldn't help but growl, running a thick finger through those smooth, semi-damp lips.

"Mmm...Can you blame me? There's nothing better than a morning pick-me-up, right?" April moaned, grinding herself harder against his hand.

"Damn straight." he growled, spinning her around to face him; lips pressing enthusiastically over her own.

April was more than ready, wrapping thin arms around his thickly corded neck to easily return the passionate kiss, one leg lifting to wrap it around his waist in order to press her heat against his lower plastron plates. April's wet, bare pussy pressing so close to his groin had Raph's head spinning as he took in the kitchen; reluctantly pulling away from her lips in order to find a spot in the nearby vicinity that would work for easy penetration. It didn't take him long to locate the perfect spot on the dining room table; he picked her up and made the five step journey; gently placing her ass on the smooth wooden surface.

Not waiting any longer, he stood between her spread legs; leaning down to kiss her again.

" _Oh, yes..._ W-Wait, Raph, we gotta turn off the stove first." April muttered into his mouth, glad she had the enough semblance of mind to remember this very important fact before her brain was completely overrun with lustful thoughts and ideas. After all, the last thing she wanted happening was her kitchen burning down - even going as far as imagining what that conversation with her father would be like...

" _Sorry about the kitchen dad - Raph and I were having wild sex on the dining room table and forgot to turn off the stove."_ she shuttered the thought...

Raphael didn't even respond before quickly running back to the kitchen to turn off any active burners; giving his girlfriend enough time to toss aside the apron and shirt in his absence. The second he was back with her, one hand returned to grasp at her now exposed breasts and his other rubbing languid long strokes against her slippery labia; thumb caressing smooth circles upon her swollen clitoris.

In no time, she felt that familiar pressure in her stomach, the rush of euphoria when an orgasm abruptly washed over her. Once it passed, April ground her pussy against his hand with a moan, the sound only increasing when he pushed a thick finger inside of her. Not being able to help it, he began fucking her with it; her coil tight pulsing around his digit as her vagina leaked out more lubricant from her walls.

"Ooh, you're _soaking_ wet...Did that feel good, baby?" Raph grumbled, running his thick rough tongue over her hard, pebbled nipples before beginning to suckle one of her small, perky tits.

"Mmm-hmm..." April groaned, pressing her thin fingernails into his thickly muscled shoulders.

"Want it to feel better?" he asked and April couldn't help but squeak when she felt his wet, rock-hard erection poking her thigh; instantly craving it deep inside of her.

"Yes!" she groaned, trying in vain to maneuver herself in an attempt to push him inside.

"What do you want me to do?" he growled, pressing his cock against her labia, rubbing himself over the length of her, causing the redhead to shutter in pleasure when his flared tip rubbed against her sensitive clit.

" _Raphael..._ " April groaned in frustration, fruitlessly moving her hips against his firmly planted hand on her hip; annoyingly keeping her in place.

"Say it..." he growled, gently nipping her breasts, gingerly biting the domed top of her right breast, leaving a small red mark.

" **Please...** " she moaned, hating how he was making her beg but finding it incredibly hot at the same time.

"Please, what?" Raph smirked, knowing he was being a gigantic asshole, but he couldn't care less; if there was anything he loved, it was seeing his beautiful girlfriend squirm.

"Please _fuck me_ , Raphael..." she finally demanded, rolling the _R_ in his name seductively, blue eyes blazing with lust as she stared into his clouded green.

April didn't have to ask twice as he pushed inside of her in one fluid stroke, moaning at the sheer exhilaration of that thick penis spreading her walls; causing the redhead to let out a long needy groan. It still shocked her just how _deep_ he could penetrate her and how easily her body accepted it; aching to feel his cock stretching her out. She purposely tightened her vagina around him just to enjoy every single inch of his gorgeous cock so deeply buried inside of her; never wanting to forget just how _rapturous_ it felt

Raphael's eyes rolled to the back of his head; the indescribably pleasure of that tight warm coil instantly accept him, the pulsation of those walls hugging his dick was a feeling he'd never get fully used to experiencing. Her body was sheer euphoria as he plunged into her over and over again; the growing wetness only making him able to move faster. Within moments, he was fucking her rapidly, his hips slapping against her ass and the screech of the table protesting the jarring motions that were taking place atop its surface.

Within moments, April had already reached a second orgasm; Raphael having no choice but to slow his movements as her vagina squeezed his penis in a vice grip as she let out a nearly animalistic moan toward the ceiling as it enveloped her. He waited patiently for her to come off of her high, wasting no more time when he flipped her over without preamble. She let out a soft squeak when her breasts were flattened across the tabletop, toes now touching the cool floor; ass presented to her boyfriend, who gently spanked that sparsely freckled surface. Once she realized he was no longer inside of her, she ground her legs together and jostled her ass around a little already missing him penetrating her. The wait didn't last long when he spat a little amount of saliva on his hand and rubbed it over her vulva lips before entering her again; the small amount of extra lube necessary due to increased tightness of taking her from this position.

Hands firmly grasping her hips, he fucked her hard, slamming his penis into her willing body repeatedly in rapid secession. April could do little more than sign and moan, enjoying the sensation of him plunging that gorgeous cock into her body over and over. Raph lifted her by her thighs; off the ground suddenly, her legs awkwardly wrapping around his waist to gain some kind of leverage as he began to penetrate her even faster. From this new angle, April felt the tip of his penis press against that sensitive spot inside of her, causing nails to dig into the wood and a scream left her tender throat as another orgasm consumed her body like fire. Raphael was close behind, leaning over the expanse of her back, his churr released into the nape of her neck as his came inside of her, thick tendrils of semen dripping down the back of her thighs.

* * *

The day seemed like any other after that. Once the couple gained their bearings and feelings back in their legs, they showered and changed; even returning to finish the breakfast that had virtually been forgotten. After eating, the two spent the afternoon playing video games until the sun fell from the sky. The long day catching up to both of them as both curled into bed to watch crappy horror movies, not even remembering falling asleep soon after to the sound of awful stock footage screams and cheesily delivered lines.

* * *

Sleep was still at the edges of his subconscious. The first thing Raphael became aware of was April's warm naked body pressed sensually against his own. Intimate moments from the previous days flashed into his mind as her impossibly smooth lips began ghosting over his thick chest plates. Green eyes opening to see her looking at him, blue irises clouded with barely sustained lust.

Raph groaned as April moved over top of him, straddling a thick thigh and grinding herself against it. He smirked at the wetness he felt brushing over his leg, those smooth nether lips rubbing eagerly onto his flesh and every movement was punctuated with her soft mewls of pleasure as she began getting herself off on him. Green eyes trailed from her pleasure induced face to those perky breasts bobbing with every motion of her body over his. When she came a few minutes later, hearing her moan and mewl so sensually, it practically drove him nearly to the brink of lust-driven insanity. Her beauty and aura was infectious and seeing her the midst of orgasm was the fucking sexiest thing he'd ever seen in his life - it was more than the terrapin could take.

Before April had the chance to come down from her high, Raphael was on top of her; thick, drenched cock tenderly stroking those soaked pussy lips. A smirk overtook his face, the devilish smile only made her more excited when Raphael adjusted her legs, removing them from around his waist to push them up higher, each of her ankles resting on each of his shoulders, his breath brushing her skins. From this position, April was virtually helpless, knowing he could enter her as fast, hard, and deep as he wanted to; the thought was thrilling.

"Ready?" Raph asked smugly, tilting his head to softly kiss her leg, tongue flicking out to lap at a small patch of freckles.

"Mm-hmm..." April groaned, eyes heavily lidded and hands balled into the sheets.

April screamed an incoherent muttering of pleasure as he pushed inside of her; stretching her vagina to the limit as he plunged his cock into her body as far as he could go. This new position was unbelievably exhilarating; the brush of his pubis tight against her clit. April tumbled over the edge only after a few shallow thrusts, her walls pulsating as he felt his penis stroking her insides in the most incredible way was just too much for the redhead to take.

Raphael wasn't faring much better - his stamina failing him - he couldn't get over just how fucking tight her vagina was in this position. He continued thrusting for only a few more moments until April experienced another orgasm, ribbed walls squeezing him so tightly, he had no choice but to follow close behind with a deep churr in the direction of the ceiling. Once his penis had shriveled back into his body, he could do little more than fall into a boneless heap into the mattress beside her.

It was a full ten minutes before either of them could talk.

"Hmm..." Raph groaned, stretching his legs and enjoying the cool thin cotton brushing over his scales. "Wow..." he continued, the soft chuckle being drowned into April's hair. Green eyes peeking open to glance at his girlfriend laying by his side, her heavily-lidded blue eyes sparkling in the dimly lit bedroom.

"You could say that again..." April moaned softly, rubbing her face against his shoulder, a satisfied smile lighting up her face; body still humming pleasantly.

"Wow..." Raph muttered and April laughed, hand lightly thwacking him on his plastron.

"I didn't mean literally!" April laughed harder than probably was appropriate. The post-coital endorphins were still rampaging through her system, putting both of them in a great mood.

In response, Raphael just grabbed her around her waist, pulling her on top of him while she just continued giggling and pressing her face deeper into his neck. He growled into her skin, nipping her slightly salty flesh, making April laugh even harder.

Raph suddenly put his face between her naked breasts; using his hands to squish his face in between her twin mounds of flesh. While not necessarily successful considering her boobs were not even close to being big enough to bury his face in; Raph really didn't seem to care, rubbing his face as deep into her chest as far as he could anyway.

Absolutely loving and enjoying Raphael's persona after sexual intercourse. After he came, he became much like a sleepy cat, lethargic but playful, his eyes a bright shade of green and full of mischief. Small hands cradled the back of his head as he continued playing with her boobs. Massaging her small perky breasts lovingly in his large hands. April bit her lip as she looked down at her boyfriend as he continued to caress her sensitive nipples and lap tenderly at her bosom. The redhead couldn't help but laugh at his actions, rough tongue tickling her skin.

"You're surprisingly upbeat for someone who's probably not gonna be able to walk for a week." Raph chuckled into her skin, leaning his head upward to continue suckling on her breasts.

"Fucking worth it." April grumbled back, grasping his face to get him to look at her before leaning in for a heated kiss. When he rolled over top of her again, she knew she may soon be eating those words.


	20. Scars

**Afterglow - Chapter 20  
**

 **Rated: T**

 **Scars**

 _Chapter Summary: April learns the origins of Raphael_ _'s signature scar._

* * *

 **Wow. 20 chapters. You all have no idea how much all your comments, faves, and follows mean to me! I love hearing from you guys and I hope you'll continue to read as this story progresses. Thanks again! xoxo**

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"How'd you get it?" the question had been on her mind since she first noticed the lightening-shaped crack in his plastron a week after meeting him. Being her boyfriend for nearly two years, she had finally asked the one question that had been plaguing her for the past four years.

Raphael glanced over at her from his side of the couch. He'd just been enjoying a rather awesome car-chase scene only to be interrupted by his pretty redheaded girlfriend's seemingly innocent question.

"Huh?" he asked, placing down the chopsticks back into the Chinese take-out container in front of him. Green eyes glued curiously to the girl sitting next to him; her own box neatly closed and chopsticks sitting on a napkin next to it.

"This." she clarified softly, reaching over to brush a thin finger across the lightening-shaped fissure on his hard chest plates. He followed the thin, dainty finger before lifting green eyes to meet her crystal blue gaze. "How did you get it?" she asked again.

"When I was a kid." he replied as way of explanation, returning his attention back to the movie.

"No, Raph - How?" she asked again, caressing his face to turn it back to her.

Raphael stared at her for awhile. She never had asked before, so why the sudden interest? The story wasn't particularly exciting or heroic. It was an accident when he was being careless. The long scar on his inner thigh had a much better story than some accidental chest plate crack he got as a kid.

"I'm sorry." she said suddenly, pulling her hand away. Arms crossing protectively over her chest as her blue eyes drifted back to the movie.

Raph debated for a moment. Still wondering her intentions and why she asked now of all times. He'd expected it those intimate moments after sex when they laid together, chest to chest, just talking. She had a habit of fingering that scar since he could remember. He'd enjoyed the languid trace and the few instances her lips softly brushed against it. But now? Just eating Chinese take-out and watching the latest _Fast and Furious_? It didn't make sense. He looked over at her again and took in her positioning. She was on the defensive right now and he wondered had he reacted wrongly? He didn't think so.

April looked rather pensive and nervous, probably debating if she said something to offend him, but Raphael knew it was an innocent question. He wasn't mad, it was just a rather dull, boring tale that happened so long ago, most of the events surrounding it were kinda fuzzy. It wasn't an epic battle of massive proportions or an injury from an especially strong enemy - the truth was a dull snorefest, and truthfully, he'd wanted to impress her with his strength and her to marvel over his impressive scar collection, although his most signature one was the most boring story of all. But she still wanted to know, and who was he to deny her that simple request?

Taking a deep breath, he fumbled a bit, trying to close the takeout box but giving up after a moment; brushing the cardboard container to the side. He scooted over to her side of the couch, grasping her small hands and placing them upon his lap. She was surprised at first, glancing down at their conjoined hands for a moment before turning her face back toward his curiously.

"I was a kid. Probably four or five. I don't remember exactly...anyway, we were all playing tag in the sewers while Splinter scouted for food nearby. I was _'it'_ and was currently chasing Mikey - who was a particularly fast little shit even back then - anyway, we got sidetracked down this alcove, which lead to some dark, ankle deep water. It was pitch black inside, but ya know, we can still see fairly well in little light, so I just kept chasing him. I guess along the way I lost my footing and fell down this steep embankment that led to this aqueduct or something. Don't remember. It was a bunch of quick flowing water and a drain underneath. I was falling so fast, I really didn't see this sharp edged rod sticking out and I slammed my shoulder into it pretty hard." He retold the story as best he remembered, gauging her reaction to his tale.

"I just remember this cracking sound, and I kinda blacked out a bit. The next thing I remember was the sound of Mikey crying as Splinter carried me out. I saw blood on my shoulder where the thing cut me, but the worst was the crack in my shell and plastron."

"You bled? How badly?" April asked, his index finger clenched in her light grasp.

"Not too bad. Mikey was a freaking basket case, but it wasn't even that bad. There's just a bunch of nerve endings where the plastron's attached to the skin, so it kinda got ripped a bit as it broke. I was a young turtle and the mutagen was working so fast out bodies were still catching up. It was thinner plating back then - not as unbreakable as it is now." Raphael replied as way of explanation, removing a hand from her grasp to rap his knuckles across the hard surface.

"Anyway, it broke cleanly and I just remember getting grounded for a week for running off from the sewer, but yeah - that's all. Not very interesting." he chuckled softly. "Would love to tell you a badass story where I fought the Shredder single-handed and he jabbed his spike arm cleanly through, leaving this crack, but yeah - not all my scars have such awesome stories attached."

"I thought it was a good story." April said thoughtfully, reaching up to touch the crack on his chest. "I'm actually kinda glad that's all it was; I pictured something much worse."

"Whataya mean?" Raphael asked softly, brushing a hand along her arm.

"You're always putting yourself in danger. I hate when you get hurt." she said suddenly, pressing herself against his chest, her face buried into his neck.

"Heh. Comes with the territory, babe. The ninja life ain't easy." Raph chuckled softly, warmth reverberating throughout his body at his girlfriend's consideration of his safety.

"I know... I just worry about you sometimes. You always seem to get hurt the worst out of everyone, you stubborn jackass."

"Yep, that's me." he laughed, only to get suddenly pushed away from her warmth.

"That's not funny, Raphael." the redhead spoke seriously, blue eyes flashing dangerously. "You need to be careful. I don't know what I'd do without you." she continued, the bright tears brimming at the edges of her eyes.

"April. You're acting like I'm dying. I'm here. I'm fine." he said, grabbing her hands. "I mean, babe, what's gotten into you? Oh wait...it's that time of the month, huh?"

The death glare following that statement more than answered that question.

"Yep, knew it." he chuckled before April socked a surprisingly strong fist across his face.

"Hope that left a scar!" she yelled mockingly even if it didn't contain the usual fire her voice held at times. She tried to seem angrier than she probably was; slamming the bathroom door behind her as Raphael nursed his throbbing cheek. He knew he'd be apologizing profusely in just a few minutes, but he couldn't help the smile at upturned his lips at her fiery spirit.

One thing was certain - he wouldn't trade his girl for the world.


	21. Third Wheel

**Afterglow**

 **Third Wheel**

 **Rated: T**

 _Chapter Summary: April seems to never catch a break when Casey Jones gets involved._

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 **I fought with myself. I didn** **'t want to submit this but it was either submit this or take another week off from writing a new chapter for this series. My mojo has gone completely to my other stories as of late... Anyhoo, I hope y'all like this even if it's just mindless filler. Bleck.**

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All she wanted a friend - was that really too much to ask?

April adored her boyfriend and his fellow mutant turtle brothers along with his rat father; she really did - even considered the small group as her own family. Friends were another issue entirely, while the redhead cherished the companionship she shared with Casey Jones, the only other human other than her father to know of the turtle's existence (which made him a perfect conduit to vent her frustrations that keeping everything about the turtles in her life secret while also having to deal with the human world she resided in), that's not even including all the shit they dealt with on a daily basis just being associated with the group of ninjas - it just didn't leave much if any room to form new relationships outside of their tiny group.

It was a small world indeed - having to hide this information and hoarding this secret relationship - it made meeting new people and making friends difficult, but as April began a new semester at college, she was hopeful that was all about to change. It was a welcome sight that when the spring semester began, there were so many fresh faces she hadn't seen. One in particular really was a new girl she'd met in her advanced animal biology and world history classes; even being assigned to do multiple projects together.

April believed her fate of no girl friends was about to change.

This new girl, Charlotte, was funny, smart, down to earth, and had the sweetest southern charm that reminded April so much of her late grandmother, complete with her deep southern accent and bouncy, blonde curly hair. It turned out to be a relationship April had been missing since Irma turned out to be a hideous pink alien with tentacle arms - a female friend - a female friend to vent to and talk about girl stuff for a change.

Long considering herself a tomboy, with her preference to playing sports and getting mud on her clothes than gossiping about the latest fashion and make-up tips, but it wasn't until she began talking to Charlotte that she'd realized she hadn't seriously talked to another girl in such a long time - instead, been surrounded by too much testosterone and her boyfriend was the main source of it all. It wasn't until they began being friends outside of the classroom when April realized just how much she _needed_ it.

For the first blissful month of classes, April and this new girl instantly clicked - just talking - getting to know one another during, between, and even after class for long study sessions. April began nursing this new relationship, getting to know as much about this new girl as possible, also, while being very careful with hoarding her own information about her strange life outside of college.

Charlotte was, as April expected, from down south, Georgia to be exact; had moved to New York to pursue a veterinary career and to be closer to her mother. This friendship turned out to be great for both of them - April to find a much needed friend outside of her tight-knit testosterone fueled mutant family and the residual betrayal left when Irma turned out to be a fraud; also, for Charlotte just to gain some ground in a new city from her small town roots and someone to count on for study sessions and assignments.

It was a new experience for both of them.

Little did April know it was only about to crash down around her.

The school cafeteria had been a bit of an escape for April lately. Getting away from the crowded classrooms and finding much needed caffeine all in one place - so this is where her and Charlotte tended to hang out before and after classes - just shooting the breeze or finishing homework sometimes til the campus closed.

Things were going great - classes were over for the day and homework was still stagnant in their bags, but the two didn't seem to care too much; rather enjoying a small reprieve to drink overpriced lattes and talking about whatever filled the silence; whether it be Mr. Arnette's awful toupee or Ms. Hamilton's propensity for wearing mini skirts and flirting with anything that had a penis. It was stupid and cliche like an atrocious chick flick but April couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so hard that wasn't based around Mikey's cooking mishaps or Casey's awful propensity toward watching movies with way too much bathroom humor - damn that Jones for corrupting her beloved boyfriend's selection for movies...

Of course, there was a rupture in this perfect world when the voice of the person she'd just been silently cursing suddenly rang from just behind her.

"O'Neil! What's up? There ya are, girl, I've been looking for you everywhere... Oh. Hey..." Casey stammered, just noticing the pretty curvy blonde with huge brown eyes sitting by the redhead.

April's eyes widened, whipping around to see the one, and thankfully only, Casey Jones standing behind her.

"Casey! What are you doing here?!" April couldn't help but scream, not ignoring the blush that came over Charlotte's face at his sudden presence.

"Raph called me. You left your book at the house and he thought you might need it so he asked me to bring it to ya. Here." the vigilante chuckled, handing April her biology book she had forgotten that morning but was too late in the day to even need it and now she'd have to now lug around another 20 pound book in her backpack.

"Raph? I thought your dad's name was Kirby." Charlotte asked, her easy charm not including her to be left out of any conversation - and of course she'd notice the discrepancy when she told the blonde she just lived with her dad.

"Raphael's not her dad, he's April's boy-toy." Casey chuckled.

April's face instantly _burned_ as she blurted out in correction, "He's my _boyfriend_ , not my _boy-toy_ , Casey!"

"Meh. Tomato, _tamato_." he replied with a shrug.

Did Casey really have to use that term? Sure, he was telling the truth but she wanted to leave out any consternation out of Charlotte's curiosity toward her other friends - _especially_ her mutant turtle boyfriend. Because there was only so many questions you could ask before it would get extremely obvious that he wasn't human -

 _You have a boyfriend! That's nice, what's his name?_ Raphael.

 _Raphael? That's a nice name. Care to tell me what he looks like?_ Sure! Handsome, muscular, green eyes, and a great smile.

 _Aw! Cute! What about hair color?_ He's...well, he's kinda...bald.

 _Oh! Um...Hmm. what about his skin tone?_ He's a little...um...green...ish?

Yeah, it would be a grand four hypothetical questions before things got uncomfortable _real_ fast... April was not prepared to talk to her about them - not yet and perhaps even _ever_ and here was Casey _fucking_ Jones bringing him up within thirty seconds of being here.

"Oh, really? Y'all never said that you had yourself had a boyfriend, April." Charlotte asked in her adorable southern drawl, which made Casey nearly swoon where he stood - you could practically see the hearts in his eyes.

"Heh. Yeah, oops. I guess I kinda forgot to mention him." April tried covering with way too flushed cheeks complete with a nervous smile and shaking hands.

"How could ya, Red? You've been with him for almost two years." Casey chuckled, sidling up a chair to sit between the two girls - one a bit flustered by the sudden attention and the other seething and reaching for the hidden tessen in her jacket pocket.

"Oh, really? Two years is quite a long time to be with someone. Sounds pretty serious." Charlotte continued, an easy smile lighting up her face to showcase those pearly whites.

"Yeah, they're totally in love. Um, Hey, I don't think we've been properly introduced - I'm Casey, by the way. Casey Jones." the vigilante replied, a big gaped tooth smile showcased to the beautiful blonde as he stuck a hand out.

"My name's Charlotte Washington. It's a pleasure to meet you, Casey." she said, reaching to grasp his hand and didn't hide the squeak when he brought her dainty hand to his lips to give the top of it a quick kiss.

"Pleasures all mine." the boy replied with a wink as April didn't bother to hide her disdain with a roll of her eyes and a languid sigh.

" **Casey!** " April said louder than intended, sending him threatening messages with the daggers in her eyes. "We were talking here. Thanks for bringing my book, but there was some homework we need to get done asap. ...By the way, what are you doing here!? You don't even go to college."

"Chill, Red. I'm working part time here helping out at the campus gym with their hockey team - I'm assistant coach with an old instructor of mine. Thought I had a perfect excuse to come see ya after work. But if ol' Jones is really getting on your nerves that much, I'll just get out of your hair. Later, Red. Nice to meet you, Charlotte..." Casey said quickly, meaning to slip out of the chair when Charlotte grabbed his arm.

"Oh, I wouldn't mind if you stayed. Come on, April, he's not botherin' anybody. We can still do our homework and get to know each other better at the same time." Charlotte was quick to defend, smiling unabashedly at the roguish human as April was left basically a gaping fish.

"Aww, well aren't you just the best, Charlotte? Hey, I think I'll go grab a juice or something, really quick - that workout I just finished got me really parched..." April rolling her eyes as Casey did what was supposed to be flexing, but his minuscule muscles could hardly disturb his shirt sleeves. "Hey,would you like a muffin or something, Lotte? My treat." Casey asked, gesturing to the small cafe cart with his head, the nickname rolling off his tongue like honey.

"Oh, really? Wow, you're just too kind. A chocolate chip muffin would be delightful."

"Coming right up." he replied with a wink, slipping from his chair and sauntering over to the counter all while Charlotte watched him leave - probably checking out his ass, but April didn't even care to know at this point. After all, she was having a hard enough time keeping her food down as she watched it all play out before her; about to change the subject back to something more school-oriented to get the bad taste out of her mouth, but Charlotte beat her to the punch.

"Oh my gosh, he's awfully handsome, April! Why have you been hiding him from me?"

"Pardon? I'd prefer calling it protecting." April asked with a forced laugh, wishing the subject would change to absolutely anything else at this point.

"Protecting?" she tsked, "He seems perfectly harmless and he's cute as a bug - we don't have many of those 'bad boy' types back home - I think I may have grown a shine for him."

"..." April really didn't know how to respond to that - sure, once upon a time, she might have agreed, but after having a much more handsome and muscular boyfriend for two years and Casey being more like that annoying older cousin who'd put a snowball down your back in winter, she'd began to see him in a less flattering light. April was full on to warn her about bad boy types but she'd be the biggest freaking hypocrite on earth considered she'd been going steady with one for nearly two years now and it was the best decision of her life.

"So...Is he seeing anybody?" Charlotte asked suddenly, bring April out of her internal musing.

"Wait - what?"

"I dunno. He seems really sweet and you know him pretty good, right?"

"Well, yeah, about four years now." April replied, wishing suddenly, she'd keep her mouth shut.

"So, is he?"

"Am I what? That is, if y'all are talking about me." Casey suddenly spoke from behind them, dramatically presenting the baked good to the curvy blonde girl.

"Oh, it's nothing! Thank you, Casey." she replied thickly, twirling a lock of her curly hair on her finger and April was prompt to notice her reddening cheeks and sparkle in her eyes.

Suddenly, her nausea began to return.

"It's no trouble. So, what are you guys working on?" Casey asked, purposely bumping April with his shoulder, forcing her to scoot her chair farther so he could sidle right next to Charlotte - a little too close for April's liking.

"Just some boring anatomy homework. It's not important...so...you work on over at the gym? I've been wanting to start going more - for obvious reasons." Charlotte chuckled nervously, gesturing to her slightly wider hips and softening stomach.

"Nonsense. You don't need to. You look _perfect_ just the way you are." Casey replied with an exaggerated wink for good measure much to April's dismay and Charlotte's giddiness. "In my opinion, it's in here that matters anyway." Casey continued, thumping his hand on his chest.

If any of them noticed April making a gagging face, neither commented.

"My, my, my, aren't you just sweet as sugar. Your girlfriend is one lucky woman."

"Heh. Sadly, ol' Jones doesn't have a girlfriend." referring himself in the third-person nearly made April's roll to the back of her skull.

"Oh, really? What a shame... Maybe we could change that..." Charlotte drawled, smiling sweetly at him before giving him a not so subtle wink.

 _ **.God...**_ April muttered internally.

It happened within less than ten minutes.

Ten minutes for April to lose control over the situation and she found herself excluded in this growing conversation until she was basically ignored altogether. She found herself staring into the half-empty mug of cold coffee, her reflection in it easily discerned by her furrowed brow and pursed lips of disdain. It was hard to ignore her new best friend giggling at pretty much everything Casey had to say as well as the constant flirting and nauseatingly sweet lines she'd heard from him on many occasion before.

Taking a quick glance at her phone, she realized the two of them had been talking for over an hour and it was already dark outside. April felt her anger growing and just began noisily putting back all of her stuff into her bookbag, which didn't have the desired effect as she was still being completely ignored. The redhead took off with a huff, leaving the two of them talking and flirting in the cafe like a couple of love-blinded preteens on their first date.

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It was a full two weeks later when April was just getting sick of it all.

Classes that used to be fun with her new friend were now filled with nothing but conversations of Casey and just how freaking cute and sweet he was. The two already been out on three dates and April muscled through the classes with a tight jaw and mostly just a bunch of nodding to not make Charlotte fill bad about gushing over the hockey-masked vigilante for hours on end.

At first, she muscled through it, after all, Casey's so called " _charm_ " and these nauseatingly cute stories she told of him would wear out soon...right...?

...she couldn't have been more wrong...

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"She was my friend first, Casey!" April screamed into the phone one night when she just couldn't take anymore of the bullshit. She knew she sounded like a petulant child that didn't get their way, but she couldn't find it in her to care anymore. In just the span of three weeks, Charolette's blubbering of Casey grew far too much til April found herself purposely avoiding the blonde girl who's she'd grown so close to. She hated having to do so, but hearing "Casey this" and "Casey that" was getting on her last damn nerve.

"Easy, Red. What's gotten into you?" Casey asked with a chuckle, probably finding all of this hysterical.

"You saw I finally had a girl friend and the first thing you do when you see her is ask her out!?" April screeched, completely ignoring the way Raphael was looking at her from where he was sitting on the couch.

"April, what's the big deal? I asked her out and she said yes. I'm glad I did because we get along great, so what do you want me to do? Break it off because my friend says I should?"

"Yes!"

"...Seriously? Red, you're acting a little immature about this whole thing." Casey prompted with just made the anger that was surging through April's veins implode.

"I'M IMMATURE!? Who was the one - " April screamed, about to go on a tirade when Casey suddenly interrupted.

"I didn't say anything when you stole my best friend."

Instantly, any fight she had in her left. "...What?"

"When you and Raph started dating, I not only lost my opportunity to be with you, which I'm totally over by the way, don't take that the wrong way because I never plan to be on the pointy end of his sai's again. The thing is - when y'all started dating, I lost Raphael too. Yet, I never complained even though you took my thug-pounding buddy from me." Casey replied with a chuckle, but April picked up on the sadness lacing it.

"Casey..."

"Red, listen. I didn't mean to mess up whatever you guys had - I swear, the second she smiled at me, there was just...this spark I haven't felt in a long time. Seriously, Red, she's great! We have a lot in common - same music, same movies, even same food choices! She even thinks I'm funny and Charlotte is just the sweetest girl I've ever met. You never acted this way with other girls I've dated before April, so why does this bother you so much? I mean, you guys are together all the time during class without me there, what's the big deal?"

"That doesn't matter, Casey! I-It's just - whenever we're together, you're all she talks about! It's driving me crazy! You might as well be there with us as much as she goes on _and on_ about you! It's like I'm not even there!"

"Heh, well, if it's any consultation, whenever I'm with Raph, you're all he talks about too."

"And another thing - I...w-what?"

"Yeah, whenever we do get together outside the group, whether it's just to hang on the roof or get a slice, he talks about you _ **all**_ the time. How pretty you are - your cute little quirks - How happy you make him - he even gets this dopey, stupid look on his face when he does. It's fucking annoying sometimes, but it's kinda sweet even though it makes me wanna puke."

Raph's eyes bugged out when April turned and looked at him with a big smile and teary eyes. "Really? Wow... I didn't know that."

"Hmm...well, you do now...So...we good, Ape?"

"Yeah...we're good. I'll learn to live with it, I guess. It isn't _too_ bad, I suppose." April shrugged, not bothering to suppress the smile tickling her lips.

"Good cause I ain't givin' her up."

"I should have never asked you to. I-I'm sorry, Casey. I'm really sorry, I shouldn't of even said a word, you know how I get, I..."

"Hey, no hard feelings, kay? I've been in those shoes and let me tell ya, being a third wheel ain't easy."

"...Thanks, Case."

"Yer welcome. You have yourself a good night, Red."

"You too. Bye."

"See ya on the flip side." he said before the line went dead.

April pulled the phone away from her ear and placed it on the table, turning her face toward Raphael who was still startled silent. Without giving him a chance to blink, she'd crossed the room and crushed him into a hug, laughing softly as she burrowed her face into this throat. For someone who wasn't expecting it at all, he recovered quickly, wrapping his arms around her middle, returning the sudden embrace.

"So...everything good?" the terrapin asked, nose sinking into her loose hair and taking a deep breath of the scent of strawberry shampoo still clinging to it.

"Everything's good...no. Great." April replied, pulling back in order to look at him.

As tempted as she was to mention what Casey probably told her in confidence, she kept her mouth shut, instead, curling into her boyfriend's lap instead. Listening to the steady heartbeat underneath her ear, she smiled in sheer disbelief that she'd never been happier to be a third wheel before in her life.

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 **Sorry if it's total crap. I tried lol.**


	22. Happy Valentine's Day

**Afterglow - Chapter 22  
**

 **Rated: T**

 **Happy Valentine** **'s Day**

 _Chapter Summary: Just in time for Valentine_ _'s Day, April buys something super special for Raphael._

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 **This is totally goopy, fluffy, lovey-dovey and full of feels, but that's what Velentine's Day is about right? lol. Hope y'all enjoy. xoxo.**

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Seeing April awake at 5am on a Sunday morning was a rare sight indeed; she'd dragged her ass out of bed because of persistent, familiar taps on her bedroom window. When they didn't let up, she had no choice but to reluctantly get up and greet the day.

Blue eyes opened in full expectation to see Raphael waiting for her to open the window so he could come in to lay next to her in the wee early morning hours before even her dad awoke. Instead, she was blinking sleep out of her eyes as she took in a post-it note with the word 'KITCHEN' with an arrow in the direction of said room scribbled messily in black marker. April glared at the note, blue eyes bloodshot and a dramatic sigh fluttering from her lips at Raphael's supposed sense of humor depicting the direction of her own kitchen before doing precisely what the note said to do.

"This better be damn good..." April muttered to herself while stumbling sleepily from her bedroom and into the kitchen.

The first thing she saw was Raphael hanging upside-down right outside her locked kitchen window, giving her a wicked smile even as she glared daggers at him. Second thing was that it was snowing; the redhead instantly perked up, running for and opening the window so Raphael wouldn't freeze to death like his cold-blooded nature intended.

"What are you doing?" April half-laughed, half-scorned her boyfriend for still not making a move to come into the warmth of her apartment as well as letting cold air and big flakes of snow shower onto her kitchen floor. Raphael still didn't come in, smile only widening as he began speaking.

" _Gooood_ morning, beautiful." he greeted in his deep rick baritone, making her skin prickle in a way that wasn't caused by the cold air leaking in through the open window.

"Morning, Raph...What brings you here at five in the morning?" April replied, thin brows lifted and arms crossed as she awaited his excuse for being here so damn early. Although she was a bit irked at him waking her up at this ungodly hour; seeing his handsome face, bright eyes, and big smile, it was nearly impossible to stay mad at him for it.

"I had a quick question for ya."

"It couldn't wait til the sun came up at least?"

"Nope!" the green-eyes terrapin answered quickly, his smile not letting up.

"Alright. Shoot." April sighed, tilting her head and giving him her full attention even if sleep was still clinging to the edges of her subconscious.

"So..." he started, one of the hands that was holding him up, lowering a single red rose between his teeth before continuing, "...Will you be my Valentine?" he finished with a smirk, brow ridges wiggling; huge, green puppy-dog eyes glittering, and damn, it was working its magic.

The pretty redhead stared at him for a long while, taking in his upside-down face, the tails of his mask and scarf drifting through her open window along with white flakes of fresh snow gathering at her feet. Resisting the temptation to roll her eyes but still couldn't stop the warmth that filled her chest at his words and kind gesture. It was hard to stay mad at him when he was just _so_ fucking cute.

"How could I say no?" she whispered, pulling the flower from his lips and placing it on a counter beside her. Cradling that adorable face, she smiled at him, recalling a particular instance of this moment in her all-time favorite superhero movie. It was too good an opportunity to let pass, so without any further hesitation, she pulled him in for a mind-numbing kiss, softly moaning upon experiencing the sensation of those cold smooth lips against her warm mouth. When she pulled away, Raph chased her mouth and she reluctantly had to refuse his advances; giggling when he nipped at her.

"Sorry, big guy, but you'll have to wait until my dad leaves on his date tonight before you get _your_ Valentine's Day present." she promised with a seductive wink, ghosting her lips back over his own.

"Ooh, goody!" Raph said while pulling back, noticing the cold air and the effect it was having on her; those hard pebbled nipples poking through her red spaghetti-strap tee in particular.

April scowled when she realized exactly where his eyes were focusing and crossing her arms across her chest to effectively block his view of her frozen nips. "Thanks for the rose, Raph. I'll see you tonight." she said with a scolding voice, ineffectively fighting the smile inching up her face when she noticed the tint of red on his sharp cheek bones.

"Oops. Hee-heh. Can't wait, babe. Stay warm." he winked, swiftly swinging himself upright to a standing position on her fire escape. The slight vertigo of the blood rushing from his head was ignored as he quickly stuck his head in the window and kissed her soundly before taking back off into the predawn darkness.

Shutting the window behind him, April smiled. She'd took a moment to gather a small vase to place the rose in; filling the small glass container with water and taking it back to her room. After setting it on her nightstand, she'd collapsed back into the still-warm covers and let sleep take her quickly back to dreamland.

* * *

Jumping from roof to roof, enjoying the feel of the wind brushing across his face and the friction of the rough rooftops scraping thickly-padded feet, Raphael made quick time of the distance from the lair to his girlfriend's apartment. Landing atop her building, swiftly climbing down the fire escape before stilling in front of her warmly illuminated kitchen window. Gathering from the text she sent just half an hour prior, he knew her father had just left, which left them completely alone for the rest of Valentine's Day (at least he hoped anyway). The red-banded terrapin didn't even bother knocking, lifting up the window and sidling into the apartment before closing the glass pane closed behind him.

"April? Yo April, ya here?" Raph called out, placing his weapons upon her dining room table as he waited for her response. A swift reach into a bag he'd attached to his belt, he drew out a large box of chocolates and a dozen roses he was initially horrified wouldn't survive the trip, but if one did this morning, the rest could as well. Bright green eyes scanned her apartment for any sign of the redhead when she didn't speak out; placing the gifts he got her on the dining room table, he called out again.

"Hey, O'Neil, you said I should be here at 5o'clocl sharp, and for once, I'm exactly on time. ...April?" Raphael vocalized, his brows furrowing as he walked toward her living room. Removing the scarf and hat and placing those items on the coffee table as he awaited her response.

"Sweetheart?" Raph called out again, the nickname left his lips smoothly while continuing to search the apartment, wondering if perhaps she was in the shower and simply couldn't hear him. With that thought and smirk inching up his lips he made his way toward her bedroom.

April smiled when he disappeared around the corner to head to the living room. Thankful for her ninja training, she had successfully and quietly made her way to the living room while his back was turned. After all, she didn't want to ruin the surprise by speaking.

Looking through an adjacent hallway, he still didn't see her. A soft padded footstep was picked up with his sensitive ears, turning around to greet the source of the noise, he immediately froze upon the sight that greeted him.

Raph couldn't help but stare, his eyes roving down her body as she stood silently and allowed him to take it in. He fully expected to see her in her normal oversized t-shirt and dorky flannel pajama pants with faded smiling moons and bright yellow stars but this wasn't was he was expecting at all. While meeting the redhead as a lanky teenager, April didn't stay that way long, her hips widening and breasts filling out to showcase a more womanly shape. It wasn't overtly obvious by her choice of wardrobe she tended to lean toward, but he knew by his own personal exploration of her body and the few times she wore a swimsuit. It was an entirely different story as she stood just feet away from him in a pale blue negligee, leaving practically nothing to the imagination, Raphael was all too aware of the woman his beautiful April had become.

The thin fabric coiled around her torso and hips like a second skin, the translucent blue cloth showcasing her glowing skin and complimenting gorgeous tumbles of red hair drifting around her shoulders, the tips of the fiery locks brushing freckled porcelain shoulders. He could easily see her exposed breasts, pebbled nipples poking at the thin cloth, as well as the black lacy panties he'd never seen her wear before.

Raphael completely forgot how to breath as he remained transfixed with her radiance. When his eyes finally met hers, he couldn't help but notice the flush in her cheeks and the nervous trembling of her lips.

"Happy Valentine's Day... So...do you like it?" she asked, the uncharacteristic nervousness making her voice falter.

Still not having any control over his vocal chords, all Raphael could do was nod stupidly as his eyes roved over her form again. He knew he was making an absolute fool out of himself but he could fucking care less right now.

"Are you just gonna gawk all night or are you gonna come over here, ya big lug?" April said smugly, the spunk he fell in love with returning in her voice as she opened her arms in invitation.

"Yeah." he replied in a dry whisper before clearing his throat, his early machismo rearing its head as he strutted easily over to her even if his legs were virtually green jelly underneath him.

Standing right in front of her didn't make him feel much relief. If anything, he became more aware of how just being closer to her very being made him feel positively weak in the knees. Taking in every ounce of her alluring beauty, Raph never knew just what he did to deserve someone who was just so freaking perfect to him in every sense. This fiery, passionate, stubborn, sexy and spunky girl loved him, and he vowed to make the absolute most of every second she allowed him to be in her life.

Raphael placed his arms upon her thin shoulders, her warmth immediately encompassing his cool callous fingers as they brushed gingerly over her freckled skin.

April bit her bottom lip, moaning softly at his gentle touch. She would never get over just how tender he was with her; this angry, hotheaded terrapin knew just how to handle her body. Only after months of being physically intimate, he'd striven to learn every inch of her; likes and dislikes, and what made fireworks go off in her head. Having this incredibly powerful ninja warrior touch like this - knowing the strength in those massive fingers made it all the more erotic and sensual when he touched her with such gentleness.

The nervous jitters soon fell by the wayside as he pressed his mouth to hers. His lips purposefully and masterfully gliding against hers, learning over time just how to perfectly meld them together.

Pulling away from her warm lips, he smirked, nuzzling his face against hers lovingly.

"So, why the change in your attire tonight, O'Neil?" Raph grumbled against her neck, languidly kissing her warm flesh as his hands started eagerly caressing her soft breasts.

"Ooh... Well, it **is** Valentine's Day and this is the first year we're celebrating it the _right_ way...So...what do you think?" April asked, gesturing to her new change in attire.

"Oh, hell yeah... It's gorgeous, but ya know, I love you just the way you are. But if we're gonna nitpick, I prefer you just be naked all the time." he replied snidely, leaning back down to continue his exploration of her neck with his mouth.

April shook her head and chuckled at his cocky attitude, his machismo did nothing but quench her insatiable lust for her boyfriend. Saying he loved her just the way she was was almost enough to send her over the edge.

"What about my ratty pink pajamas with the fluffy unicorns you love so much?" April moaned into the side of his head.

"As many boners as those have given me, I have to say, this takes the cake." he mumbled, face cushioned between her perky breasts, the satin of the cloth and her silky skin feeling like utter heaven.

April laughed breathlessly, the soft airy sound music to his ears. _Fuck, he loved her so much._ With that obvious revelation, he reluctantly pulled away from her flesh and smiled at her; it still made his heart hammer and palms itch in just the simple way she looked at him. Even after so much time had passed, it still felt the same way it did during the first week they were together; if anything, the feelings intensified tenfold. The glorious eruption of passion he felt toward her and just wanting to give her absolutely everything, he forgot about his own desires; wanting to make this night about her - to give her the time of her life; one she would never forget.

"Want to take this to the bedroom?" April asked suddenly, hands brushing eagerly over those glorious, massive biceps.

"I thought you'd never ask." Raph growled in her ear, picking her up bridal style and sprinting toward her room.

April just squealed and laughed as he launched her onto the bed. The bouncing subsided as she awaited him to join her, but instead, the terrapin muttered, " _Be right back_ " before taking off out the door again.

The redhead wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but the last thing she did was when Raphael returned with a large heart-shaped box of her favorite dark chocolates and what she assumed was the remaining dozen roses from the single one he'd brought that morning. The flood of emotion from seeing him just standing there; nervousness apparent in the way his hands softly trembled as he presented them had her swallowing back a sudden lump that clogged her throat; the back of her eyes burning with rising tears.

"R-Raph...but...what? When... How did... _Thank you._ " she decided on, accepting the gifts from her beloved terrapin; mind overwhelmed with just what she could have done so well in her life in order to deserve someone as wonderful as him. When she first accepted the fact she was indeed in love with him; she also accepted the fact that a "normal" relationship was basically out of the equation. It wouldn't be like the movies or even a semblance of "normal" dating for either of them. The harsh truth was he wasn't human and she was; he couldn't just take her out to shop, out to eat, or even go to the movies like other couples without inciting a riot. A ' _societal norm_ ' courtship was never going to be a part of her relationship when she chose to be with him.

She'd fully accepted that, but it didn't change facts when it came to things like holidays.

Raphael wasn't a person who celebrated much. The only day he'd grown up thinking was an annual "holiday" of sorts were him and his brother's mutation day; but even that occasion was just a simple algae cake Splinter made for the boys; that was basically it for the first fifteen years of his life. Yet every single holiday, Raph stepped up without being asked; buying her presents and making her such wonderful and thoughtful things. He was always so giving and about making the day special even if it was something small; he'd done it.

It didn't make sense really especially since the way he'd been brought up. Long story short, Raphael had been raised without much of anything; shunned by a society that would never accept them as one of their own. Forced to live underground in dark, dank sewers; craving sunlight and acceptance but never getting it. You'd never know it when you got to know him. Just underneath that rough exterior, Raph contained a fierce bleeding passion for the city; an incredible love he was willing and had protected it with his life on numerous occasions even if the citizens would never care to even know his name or even the fact he existed.

Staring at the packages in her hands, it hit her... Not full comprehending just what an incredible gift she'd been given. A gift that didn't come in a packages, sentimental Hallmark cards, or bright red boxes filled to the brim with fluffy tissue paper. He'd given her his heart. This passionate, beating soul inside this wonderful being and he was hers...and she was his. Candy and flowers didn't matter even if she appreciated the sentiment; this holiday was about love and he'd given it so willingly and without asking for anything in return; especially in a world that never gave him anything... This huge heart under such a gruff exterior was too beautiful for this world; to a city and to her, who was so undeserving of him.

"You're welcome." he replied after a long silence, moving to sit next to her after she'd gone quiet.

Raph noticed her quiet contemplation on her face; instead of interrupting her inner dialog, he took this free moment to take her in; sitting cross-legged on the dark blue comforter, the transparent lingerie allowing his eyes to absorb every beautiful curve, bump, and perfect imperfection on her entire body. If he was honest with himself, he would never get used to seeing her this way; never understanding the reason she'd chose him over anyone else on this planet. Much less choosing a short, hotheaded, stubborn mutated turtle; he was so undeserving of her constant presence in his life.

This year, he wanted to make this day special for her since she'd been patient with him over the course of almost two years together. Previously, he'd just made cards or done some sick art she could hang on her wall - this time, he wanted to do it the "right" way. His inability to take her nice places and treat her special with nice presents and dinners deterred him for a short time, wracking his brain for what exactly he could do for her. So he hatched a plan; for the past two months, he'd collected dropped bills and change throughout the streets during patrol and around deserted streets, subways, and alleys until he had enough to buy her a nice Valentine's gift (telling Casey what to get, of course). She always gave everything to him so selflessly for nearly every holiday and this year, he strove to give her back a fraction of the generosity she'd given him and his family over the course of these past four years. Looking at her now, he still wondered how he deserved to be so damn lucky; but didn't ponder too long as reached over to cup her cheek and turn her face to his.

April couldn't prevent the shiver that crawled up her spine when he suddenly touched her face. Without allowing him the time to make another move, she'd placed her gifts down on the bedding between them before throwing her arms over his thickly muscled shoulders and pressed her mouth over his. Words became unnecessary as the two laid back on the comforter, mouths pressing and tongues fighting for dominance. April pulled away suddenly, worried the gifts right next to them would be crushed in their sudden passions.

"Wait a sec, okay?" April said more than asked, rising out of the bed much to Raph's grumbling distaste. He didn't complain too long as he used the time to make his way under the covers to keep off the sudden chill of the February night.

Gathering the items, she'd placed them on the nightstand when her eyes fell upon the card she'd bought him. Biting her lip, she questioned if she could give it to him now or wait. Her hand made up its own mind as the letter was picked up and presented to the terrapin before she had realized what happened.

Raph's eyes widened slightly before accepting the card; gingerly tearing it open as April crawled into the covers next to him. The card was simple, just a couple, dare he say, 'manly' looking hearts decorating the front cover, a script font with "Happy Valentine's Day" finishing off the look. Turning the page, Raph read what it said inside and his heart leaped into his throat at the words she'd written. Addressing him as "the man I love" and as "hers". So poignant and powerful yet simple all at the same time. She'd told him she loved him on numerous occasions from in the midst of orgasm to as simple as ending a call. Those were words that came easy to her, but there was something about reading it that made it seem permanent. How this relationship that started so sporadically turned into something that just may last forever.

Raphael would be lying if he said he knew they'd always be together. There was still some demented side of him that believed that this was somehow just all a dream. That April would one day wake up and realize what a mistake she'd made; leave him to find someone that could give her everything he couldn't. He'd lived in this perpetual state of limbo waiting for that day she'd crush his soul and Raphael knew if it came, he'd never recover. He'd given her everything; every corner of his hard, blackened heart on a silver platter - it was hers - it always had been. But as he continued to finish the last paragraph, something inside of him cracked.

" _Words can't express exactly how I feel about you, Raphael. But of one thing I am certain as we make our way through this little crazy thing called life - there is only one thing I want right by my side throughout it all - and that's_ _ **you**_ _. I love you more than you'll ever know. Happy Valentine's Day._

 _Love Always,_

 _April"_

Raph re-read it at least ten times before he looked up to meet her teary eyes and smile. He didn't break eye contact as he placed down the letter on the nightstand; reaching over and embracing her, pulling her down to lay beside him. Content with just holding her soft form close to his body, catching the soft smell of strawberries lingering in her silken strands of fiery orange hair.

"I love you too, April." he whispered, closing his eyes. Focusing on the sound of her breathing and the prickle of her velvet touch along his arms.

April allowed his comforting touch and arms to envelop her in warmth. Long forgetting their initial plans for this Valentine's Day in lieu of just enjoying the feeling of being together; savoring these moments of pure bliss and looking forward to all the ones to come...


	23. Awkward (NSFW)

**Afterglow - Chapter 23  
**

 **...Awkward...**

 **Rated: M**

 _Chapter Summary: The two lovers really need to get a space of their own..._

* * *

 **First off, I do apologize for keeping this story stagnant, but I've been putting my other stories first and this one has been giving me a headache - it's hard to get certain plots moving. Oh, well, I think it's heading in the right direction.**

 **Also, I knew I said another M rated chapter wasn't happening for awhile, but it fit so well with where I ultimately wanted to take this story, I couldn't help myself. :-) Enjoy some awkward debauchery. _(If you're interested in checking out some nsfw fanart that coincides with this chapter, check it out on my tumblr or the same chapter on my A03 account)_  
**

* * *

Being woken up by a sexually mischievous 300+ pound mutant turtle was not on too many people's bucket lists but April was more than happy to write it into her daily life schedule. She'd gone past Valentine's Day without having sex, which wasn't planned considering she'd even bought a special garment for the previously mentioned occasion. It was irksome to say the least, but waking up to Raphael's head between her legs well then made up for it.

How the hotheaded terrapin managed to pull off her expensive panties with his large fingers without ripping them and not waking her up in the process was beyond her understanding but when his tongue ran through her folds and over her swollen clit, all previous questions went out the window with it.

A high-pitched satisfied shrill echoed through the room as his wide-thick tongue ran over the entire expanse of her shaved mound. The rough texture of that wet muscle gliding so sensually over her lady parts had April mewling and grasping the sheets, panting for air as he molded his lips to massage her clit. Wide tongue curling deep in those inner lips before plunging eagerly into her entrance; her walls clenching around the tongue that started languidly fucking her depths. It felt so _good_. Breathy moans filled the heady aura in the room; short fingernails scratching at thick, scaled shoulders. All too soon, a familiar warmth began pooling in her belly and with her swollen bead flicked back and forth with a purposeful thumb and the depths to which his tongue plunged into her - it became more than she could handle - she found herself enraptured in an intense orgasm that had her screaming his name into the ceiling.

April was still in the throes of orgasm as Raphael relinquished his actions upon her lower half; opting to cuddle in behind her, spooning her back into his plastron. He waited for her labored breathing and rapid heartbeat to slow before brushing orange hair over her shoulder and began kissing her nape; hands roaming over her body, especially loving the sensation of the silky fabric of her negligee against his scales. Being able to see and touch her perky breasts through them was just a bonus.

"Wow...What was that for?" April asked lowly, careening her neck in order to look back at him with heavily-lidded eyes.

"I dunno. Got hungry I guess." he replied with a wink, wiggling brow ridges, and haughty smirk; the evidence of his actions apparent by the shiny liquid still around his upturned lips.

"Sicko." April laughed, fighting back a moan as her nipple was pebbled between his masterful fingers.

"You know you love it. Now c'mere, gimme a kiss." he puckered, wet pouty lips closing in on hers.

"Ew!" April screamed, turning her face away from the mouth covered in her own juices. Not the most appetizing thing first thing in the morning; tensing when she felt thick fingers start wiggling near her hip bones where she was particularly ticklish.

"Aww, come on. It's not that bad...Wait...maybe you're right. After all, I have a better idea." he replied, removing one of his hands to wipe his mouth.

"Oh, really, and what's that?" April asked, looking at him over her shoulder. She awaited an answer verbally but instead, was given a very obvious poke in her thigh. Her cheeks immediately flushed as she experienced his slick, smooth penis pressing between her ass cheeks and further into the juncture of her thighs. His eyes never left hers as the wide head brushed over her wet labia, between the folds and coming to a rest near her entrance.

Raphael remained where he was without any move to continue further; it confused the redhead for only a moment until she realized he was seeking permission. Her cheeks flushed a rosy shade and heart skipped a beat at this action; it still amazed her how such a normally brash, hotheaded terrapin could put her needs well above his own and respected her enough to wait for her to give an okay.

 _God_ , she loved him so much.

Without speaking to ruin this beautiful silent moment between them, April smiled; small hand reaching around to rest smoothly upon his cheek. A nod of her head had him attempting to push into her with little success. April winced in pain; the odd angle in which his large penis was trying to enter her made for a super tight fit. There was good reason they typically only did missionary - it was the easiest and smoothest fit for both of them. While they'd done doggy-style a few times previously, she'd been standing up; they'd never even attempted it on a bed or lying side by side - it made for a impossibly tight entrance neither attempted before. Seeing how this was not going anywhere fast, the redhead curved her torso, leaning forward and ass presented to his lower body; even going as far as lifting up on of her legs and resting it atop his thigh in order for him to hopefully enter smoothly. Some awkward positioning and some extra lube he'd spat into his hand and applied to her entrance allowed him to slide in halfway; giving her a moment to adjust before pushing up to the hilt. Releasing a satisfied churr in the back of his throat, Raphael cupped and fondled her small breasts as he awaited her okay to keep going.

April was tense for the next moments; getting used to the feeling of him stretching her so wide from his angle; it wasn't the easiest fit but she was determined to make it work. She wasn't sure why, but this position felt so intimate; almost like cuddling, and she was certain if she could just adjust enough, it would be successful. Once she felt looser around him, she scooted herself backward until his cool chest plates were flush into her back. April smiled and sighed when Raph placed his head into the dip between her neck and shoulders and proceeded to kiss the entire area.

"You okay?" he asked softly, smooth lips trailing comfortingly against her skin.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just give me a minute." she replied, moving her head back in order to kiss his temple.

"If it hurts too much, we could change positions."

"No." she almost replied too quickly, "Heh. I mean, it's not everyday you try something new...besides...I really like it."

"Hmm. I do too and hey, if anyone walks in on us, we could just say we're cuddling." he chuckled and brows wiggled suggestively, leaning his head forward to nibble at her earlobe.

"Don't jinx us, Raph." April mumbled, wiggling her hips a bit and moaned at how he jostled inside of her. The redhead bit her lip when that earned a low growl from her boyfriend.

"Hrn... _Damn_ , that feels good." Raph grumbled, eyes rolling at the intensity.

"Mm-hmm... Okay, you can move now." April whined, further rubbing her ass over his lower chest plates.

"Gladly." he murmured in reply; pulling out almost all the way before pushing back in. His movements were slow and deliberate as he plundered her body; being able to fully glide in and out smoothly had April's eyes rolling in total euphoria.

"Ooh, _yes_ , Raphael..." April moaned as he gently pounded into her from behind, his large hands continually caressing her breasts through her thin negligee. His plastron plates cool and hard against her back and her arm flung above her head; caressing the back of his head with cool, purposeful fingers, making him groan sensually into her nape. This position didn't allow many quick movements so Raph's only choice was to go slowly, one hand trailing down between the juncture of her thighs to where they were connected. His large index was tortuously methodical as he began flicking that swollen bead in rhythm with his slow thrusts. Raph only smirked when April began to whine.

April sighed with every thrust, her eyes closed as she rode out the pleasure he was causing her. So used to the way he normally hammered into her, this new positioning had him going almost _painfully_ slow allowing her to experience every inch of him going in and out. The way he spread her and rubbed along her walls was indescribable, waves upon waves of mind-numbing ecstasy rolling through her body with every roll of his hips. When his fingers began toying with her clit, April whined lowly as a familiar pressure invaded her groin...she was already so close...

Raph fought a churr as April tightened around him; a novel thing that always happened when he put any pressure over her swollen clit. He knew she was on the brink of orgasm and he was adamant to push her over the edge before he finished, but when a sudden noise came from nearby, it caused him to slow down his movements to a near stop. Obvious sounds of keys rattling and an opening door; familiar footsteps registered in his sex-fueled subconscious, his hips stopped moving entirely.

"Raph, why did you-"

"April?" the sudden voice of her father rang out through the apartment and the hand that was so lovingly caressing her boyfriend's head now slammed over his mouth.

Blue and green eyes were humorously wide as they stared at her bedroom door - which both of them forgot to lock. So many profanities wanted to pour from her mouth at this moment but she was scared-shitless and her tongue was completely immobile.

 _Oh, please God, no..._ The only thing April could do was pray her dad didn't walk through that door.

Raphael didn't seem to be faring much better; his flight or right response activated as he used his finely toned hearing to discern just where her father was located in the quiet apartment. Estimating if he could get out of her window before all hell broke loose, but there was no time when his footsteps were far too close and it all thoughts came to an abrupt halt when Kirby O'Neil's voice rung out again.

"April?" her dad asked again, this time from right outside the door.

"H-Hey dad!" April called out a lot more calmly than she thought was possible. "I was just about to jump in the shower!" she continued, knowing she needed a proper excuse to guarantee her father was not going to walk in the door.

Subconsciously, April tightened her hand over her boyfriend's mouth - the last thing she needed right now was her father having any idea Raphael was in her room and the small fact that she was currently having sex.

"Oh, okay. I was thinking since we missed out on our traditional father/daughter Valentine's Dinner last night, I thought you'd like to head out for an early lunch at our favorite Italian place - that is, if you and Raph aren't doing anything today." Kirby asked, his voice giving his position as exactly outside of her door.

Raph nearly snickered behind her hand at the incidental innuendo her father provided. April sensed and felt his lips moving and was temped to elbow him in the side but didn't want to incite any further noise.

"No, no, we're not doing anything today."

"Liar." Raph mumbled lowly into her skin and she nearly yelped, digging short fingernails in his face and he didn't even flinch. Damn his thick scales. Instead, he snaked his tongue out and began licking her fingers. The redhead's cheeks flushed bright red at the sudden action, forcing her breathing to remain calm as he licked suggestively between the gaps.

"Stop it!" April whispered, turning away from the door for a millisecond to give him the dirtiest look she could muster.

"What was that, April?" her father asked suddenly and she felt Raph's chest rumbling as he held in his laughter.

Did he _really_ think this was funny?

"Nothing, dad! Just thinking out loud! So, um, Antonio's later?" April continued the conversation and fought back a sudden gasp that nearly escaped when Raphael started rotating his hips, his penis jostling inside of her - it was absolutely wonderful torture.

"Yeah, if that's what you want. We could go to Mr. Miamoto's if you prefer; I hear his Pizza Gioza is to die for."

" _Y-Yes!_ " April shrilled suddenly, Raphael's traitorous fingers sneaking down to play with her clit. "I-I mean, y-yeah, you'd love his Pizza Gioza, it's really good."

"Um...Are you okay, April?" Kirby asked, of course he'd notice how she was stuttering.

"J-Just hiccups, dad." she said, playing up the part by forcing herself to hiccup a few times before continuing, "Um, anyway, I'm gonna jump in the shower. I'll be out soon and we can head out then."

"Alright. See you in a bit" he replied; the answer seemed to appease Kirby, who's footsteps soon disappeared back into the apartment.

As soon as the area outside her room was silent, April smacked her devious boyfriend in the arm. "Don't you _ever_ do that again..." she whispered angrily, blue eyes fiery as she stared at Raphael, whose face was showcasing the epitome of innocence, his bright green eyes in full puppy-mode and a freakin' adorable smile quirking his lips.

"Give me some credit, O'Neil. I'm a ninja, remember? Stealth is my specialty..." he whispered and as hard as April tried to stay angry at the terrapin, it soon faded into dust the second he nuzzled his face against her neck.

"...What am I gonna go with you?" April sighed, cuddling closer to him and allowing her body to relax from her temporary moment of terror.

"Hmm...well, I do _some_ ideas..." he muttered into the back of her neck, his hips resuming their earlier motions, but before he even had the chance to complete a single thrust, April was pulling away from him. His penis exited her with a soft pop as she stood up and looked at him expectantly. The redhead smiled at him, her eyes gladly roving over his naked form. blue irises glued to the area between his legs before they met his face for only a moment before giving him a devious wink and heading straight to the bathroom.

Raph just stared after her as she suddenly spun on her heels and headed to the adjoining bathroom; leaving him laying alone on a bed with a massive erection. Feeling more than a bit awkward knowing Kirby was just beyond the door, he had no choice but to put his ninja skills to the test and follow after her. His questioning look plastered on his face must have screamed for clarity and April smiled at him before reaching over to turn on the shower.

When the water came on and it would easily drown out their voices, Raphael felt more comfortable to finally ask, "What are you doing?"

"Taking a shower, but if you insist on finishing what we started, we have to do so in here." April replied almost nonchalantly as she adjusted the bottles of body wash and hair products to the lower shelves so they wouldn't be knocked down from their " _activities_ ".

"You serious?" Raph asked; sharp cheekbones stained red.

"It's either that or my dad's gonna get suspicious on why I'm lying to him about taking a shower."

"Yeah, but can't we just leave the water on and finish on the bed or even here on the floor?"

"Nope. You know how I hate wasting water and the bed creaks too much."

"I _know_ that, b-but -"

"Listen, I'm just offering. You don't _have_ to stay." April shrugged, looking back at him to give his lower half a once-over before lifting her eyes to his, "You're welcome to head back to the lair like that." she continued, a devilish grin pulling the corners of her lips.

Raphael took a second to look down at his fully erect penis before feeling hot coils of embarrassment take root in his belly. He covered himself with his hands and glared at her. April just smiled innocently, wiggling her brows as she tested the water temp before stepping in the shower without another word.

Raphael was left staring at the flowery shower curtain and April's naked silhouette behind the pastel pink plastic. He felt the heat flushing his cheeks and was tempted to show her up by walking out but who was he kidding? He couldn't say no to a sexy wet April offering sex - even if was probably going to be even less comfortable than a rooftop - not to mention slippery as fuck. Oh, the things he did to get laid...

"Damn, we _really_ need to get our own place..." Raph grumbled lowly to himself before swallowing his pride and following her into the shower.


	24. The Eel and the Tunnel

**Afterglow - Chapter 24  
**

 **Rated: T**

 **The Eel and the Tunnel  
**

 _Chapter Summary: April has to spend a few nights at the lair, much to Raphael's delight._

* * *

"...So...mind telling me why you're staying here again?" Raph asked smugly, lying back on his bed with his arms crossed comfortably underneath his head; foot wiggling as it dangled off the edge of the bed.

"Raph, for the thousandth time, I am **not** telling you again." April growled, giving him the stink eye as she none-too-gently unpacked her small suitcase.

"Aww, come on, it's funny." Raph replied with a smirk, poking her in the side with his toe which she quickly slapped away.

"Stop it! And no, it's not funny!" April shrilled, her cheeks a brilliant shade of red as she wiggled an accusing finger at the smirking terrapin.

"Now, let's see, from your ranting explanation earlier, when you and your dad went out to eat, he brought up a rather _interesting_ conversation he had with the next door neighbor. Ya know, the one that has a thin wall between their living room and your bedroom and **oh** , the stories they told..." he recanted with a smug smirk and wiggling eyebrows; absolutely loving how his girlfriend's face flushed.

" **Shut up!** " April screeched, flinging a spare tennis shoe at his head and she inwardly cursed when he easily caught it and tossed it harmlessly onto the floor.

Damn his ninja skills...

Raphael couldn't help but guffaw at her outburst, head leaning back and laughing like it was the fucking funniest thing he'd ever seen in his life.

April had never been more jealous of Raphael and his brothers at this very moment - willing to give up anything to just curl up into a shell to hide from the outside world for the rest of her life. Everything inside of her was filled with the hot coals of embarrassment - recalling her adorably awkward father bringing up the dreaded conversation over lunch...

 _They were having such a great time at their traditional father/daughter Valentine's lunch - a tradition that started the year after her mother disappeared and continued til present day._

 _It was just a nice way to spend time together and get to talk... Little did April know it was about to be the most embarrassing moment of her life._

 _Kirby's face was a bit red when he suddenly mentioned Ms. Anderson next door, a widowed, lonely 60-something lady who made it her mission in life to stick her nose into other people's business, bringing up a conversation he had with her the previous afternoon. April was instantly intrigued, expecting some funny anecdote her dad was famous for, but to her surprise, he had a completely different idea in mind._

 _With a shrug of his thin shoulders and red cheeks that put his freckles in ridiculously high contrast, he calmly recounted a conversation that included words like "horror movie-style screaming" and a lot of "rhythmic" bangs against the wall. Over the course of said conversation, the ease of the lunch time faded into background noise and the easy smile on her face turned into a mouth agape in horror much like a fish gasping for air._

 _Suddenly, the night in question hit her like a ton of bricks; April's face proceeded to turn white when she realized it was the exact same day her and Raph basically had a fuck-fest when her father was called out of town for the night. Given her expression and the shock that came out of nowhere, there was no way she was going to talk her way out of this one...April was even too bewildered to even fathom the idea to dismiss the woman's story for the sheer fact she was an old lady probably just hearing things._

 _April was stone silent as Kirby finished his story, probably even more embarrassed than his daughter, which had to be quite a daunting feat._

 _With an out of character stutter, her father had kindly recommended maybe her and Raphael could be a little quieter during their 'intimate time'...for the neighbors' sake_

 _Wishing for another Kraang invasion, April just stared into the shared blue eyes of her father in horror; praying for the earth to open up and swallow her whole just to get out of this uncomfortable conversation she had NEVER planned to have with her soft-spoken dad._

 _Kirby kept rambling, explaining to his silent daughter how he understood she was an adult and he approved of her and Raphael's relationship and whatever came with it, but the damage was already done. The lunch was blown and the two went home with way too many leftovers and nothing but awkward silence between them. As soon as April got home, she'd packed some clothes and headed to the lair without saying a word. Her biggest mistake was soon to some and that was telling her boyfriend the truth of what took place and instead of sympathizing with her traumatic afternoon, he fell on his ass and laughed._

 _She'd never been more tempted to strangle the life out of him..._

"April, seriously... Come on, it's not that bad. If you think about it, it's freakin' hilarious." Raph chuckled, poking her back with an extended toe, which was ignored til he began tickling her which incited the reaction he was hoping for.

April slapped his foot away and started another rant, "Would you be so kind to tell me what the _hell_ is so _funny_ , Raphael?! The fact that my dad knows we're having wild sex when he's away **or** that the rest of the 5th floor does too?!"

"Don't forget the apartment below us - I'm surprised we haven't fell through their ceiling yet." the terrapin replied smugly.

"...Oh, my God! You are _unbelievable_!"

"I know...you've told me before..." he replied, completely ignoring how her fists shook and the vein popped on her forehead; instead, giving her a devious smirk complete with wiggling brows and her face flushed at his sheer audacity.

"What the hell is **wrong** with you!?"

"April, seriously, I think you're overreacting." Raph said while sitting up; trying to be a bit more placating once he seen how actually _angry_ his girlfriend was quickly becoming.

"Oh really?! So, you'd be all find and dandy if Splinter found out about our sex life and your brothers did too?!" April shrilled.

"I don't see why not considering they already know."

" **...WHAT?!** " April screamed, and if Raphael didn't know April's face could get any redder, he was proved wrong.

"Yeah, even if I hadn't already told them, they sure as hell would have figured it out by how you've been screaming just now."

"B-But, w-w-when?! H-How!? WHAT!?"

"Well, Leo caught us in the act, Mikey asked, and Donnie...figured it out. It was only Splinter that I had a full on discussion with; he sat me down and gave me 'the talk' - at 18 years old mind you - which strongly implies he knew I'd be needing it sooner or later. I mean, damn it, April, we've been together nearly two years - it's nothing to be ashamed of."

April's face and countenance fell which the ease of which he said it. With a sigh of resignation, the redhead plopped next to Raphael on the bed and rested her head on his shoulder. The terrapin was more than happy to put an arm around her and pull her closer.

"It's still freakin' embarrassing...I mean, my dad still looks at me like I'm his innocent little girl, and now for him to know for sure that I'm grown-up and having relations...Ugh... It's just weird..."

"April. You're 19 and in college. Not to mention, you helped saved the world along with us countless times; I'm sure he knew you grew-up a long time ago."

"I know that...It's just..."

"You love me, right?"

"I guess...even if I was strongly questioning it a couple minutes ago." April replied, flashing him a smirk and jabbing him in his side.

"Fair enough." he chuckled, bopping his forehead against hers lightly. "That being said, we love each other and we care about each other - and your dad approves of us - he told you that."

"...Yes?"

"Then that means we're having sex just for the hell of it. It's just another way we show our love. That should be enough for him...and for you."

"Yeah, I guess... Ugh, this is even worse than when Leo walked in on us." April sighed dejectedly, hiding her face in her hands.

"Hey, hey..." Raph muttered, gingerly pulling her hand away to reveal her wide eyes and red cheeks. "You got over that and you'll get over this too, alright? It'll take a bit of time, but it'll be fine. I promise. Believe me, it wasn't easy getting over Splinter explaining, as he called it, ' _The Eel and the Tunnel_ ' - but I got over it even if I couldn't look him in the eye for two months afterward. Heh. It's embarrassing, but you get over it."

That seemed to do the trick and April cracked a smile, nestling her head upon his shoulder with a chuckle. "I suppose your right." the redhead sighed, enjoying the sensation of her boyfriend's hand rubbing languid circles on her shoulder-blade.

"You still want to stay here or go talk to your dad?" Raph asked after a couple comfortably silent minutes.

"I still think I'll stay here a few days... I'll text him later though." April admitted with a shrug.

"Sounds good."

"So. The ' _Eel and the Tunnel_ ', huh?" April asked curiously after a moment; trying to picture Splinter sitting across from Raphael and her normally stoic boyfriend having his father explaining sex to him.

"Shut up. I don't wanna talk about it." Raph grumbled and April laughed at the horrified and slightly nauseous look that flashed across his face.


	25. Bumbling Turtle Boyfriend

**Afterglow - Chapter 25  
**

 **Rated: T**

 **Bumbling Turtle Boyfriends**

 _Chapter Summary: Staying at her boyfriend_ _'s for a few days, things get off on the wrong foot - maybe because Raphael stuffed it in his mouth._

* * *

 **25 Chapters already... Holy crap guys. When I started writing One Year (Prequel) did I ever think I'd be writing a 25 plus chapter fict to follow it up. _Wow._ Thank you all to those who diligently comment, fave, follow, you guys are the ones keeping this going and just being so encouraging and I read every single review and they all make me smile! You guys are awesome! This series will not go on forever though. I'm thinking we're more than halfway through with where I ultimately want to take this and if I stop doing so many filler chapters(** *cough* **smut*** cough* **), I think it will be about 50 chapters total. Hope you'll still be reading by then. :-) Thanks again! xoxo**

* * *

" _Slow down_!" April screeched as Raphael was just about to make the jump over to another rooftop.

Said turtle turned to the voice only to see his sweaty girlfriend hunched over, hands on her knees and basically hyperventilating. Thick brow ridges furrowed at the sight as he swirled on his heels to close the distance between them.

"You alright?" he asked, hiding the rising smirk at the obvious fact his girlfriend was painfully out of shape.

"Y-You don't always have to run so * _huff_ * friggin' fast! We're just * _wheeze_ * going to get some food, it's not a freakin' race!" April growled, which lost all it's fire when she was gasping for air during the whole rant.

"I'm not racing, April. The dude on the phone said 20 minutes and it's gonna get cold if we're slacking."

"Slacking!?" April screeched, standing to her full height in order to look down at him slightly.

"Yeah. Slacking." he didn't budge, thickly muscled arms crossing over his chest.

"First off, _mister_ , I was in college all day long before I dragged my ass to the lair, which is about 20 minutes farther walk than my apartment, mind you; than as soon as I get back, the kitchen is a disaster zone thanks to Mikey's latest culinary 'creation'... So, in lieu of having no dinner, I was kind enough to offer to go out and buy some real food even if I'm basically a walking zombie here - and you say I'm _**slacking**_!?"

"Alright, you're not slacking, you're just out of shape." he replied with a shrug and if it wasn't for his lightening-fast reflexes, he would have had April's fist for dinner.

"You **ASSHOLE**! I can't believe you just said that!" the redhead yelled, stabbing a thin finger against his plastron and using every inch she had over him to her advantage.

"Hey, take it easy, O'Neil, I'm just stating facts here."

The look that followed that statement had Raphael flinching at the unbridled rage that crossed her pretty face. He inwardly cursed his propensity for being an ass as his wide chartreuse eyes stared into the fiery blue steel of his girlfriend. Waiting for a smart remark or a physical beating, the terrapin was surprised when April's hand lowered and she walked past him to continue to their destination. Raph was about to call out to her but she was already making her way down the fire escape and out into the crowd that formed and he wasn't able to follow her.

"Shit!" he growled to himself, instantly pulling out his phone to call her, and big surprise, she didn't answer; turning toward the rooftop for a moment to flip him off instead. Shaking his head at her gesture, he followed her; being sure to stick to the shadows as April continued to the restaurant. Hot coals formed in his gut as she entered the bustling Chinese joint; watching her disappear into the building caused a hot seed of regret to wedge it's way into his chest. Wishing for a better filter for his mouth was not going to help him now, so he just made sure to keep her in sight. Within five minutes, the redhead reemerged and instead of walking back to where he resided, she made her way to the lair walking along the brightly lit streets.

His stomach turned when he noticed her staying near people whenever possible and he was forced to follow her along rooftops and shady alleyways. Thoughts swirling in his head on how to beg for forgiveness at the forefront of his mind. "Dammit..." Raph grumbled as April made her way to the garage that lead to where they parked the shellraiser. When he finally approached her, April didn't care to look at him or utter a word, instead the redhead unceremoniously shoved the bag of food into his arms before opening the garage door. Raphael silently followed her in; cringing slightly when she loudly slammed the the heavy sliding metal door back down.

The walk back into the lair was silent; April even ignored the smile Donnie and Mikey sent her way and Raphael didn't miss the questioning stare his genius brother gave him when April remained quiet. Raphael just shook his head and placed the bags on the counter as Mikey gathered the rest of the family for dinner.

...Dinner was an awkward occasion to say the least; the tension could be cut with a knife and any conversation that started quickly diminished when they would try to include April in on any subject. Even when Mikey told a rather good joke, it wasn't even able to crack a smile on her face; Raphael knew he exponentially screwed up. Only the sound of ceramic chopsticks tapping and quiet chewing was heard as the family finished the meal but every bite of food just left an unpleasant taste in the strongest terrapin's mouth.

Considering how badly dinner went, Raphael was more than happy to take Leo's place to go on solo patrol for the evening in order to give April a bit of space to hopefully cool off as well as practice the speech and his puppy-dog eyes needed for the intense groveling he'd be sure to do later. During patrol, he was on auto-pilot, figuring out what exactly went wrong and why he chose to be such a douche-bag when April had been nice enough to accompany him and even offered food in the first place. The cool air felt frigid on his skin as he went through the city; hoping he didn't royally fuck up his relationship with the greatest thing that ever happened to him...

* * *

It was after midnight when he got back and he was just as surprised as anyone when he found April wide awake and sitting in his bed. His heart stopped when he realized she had been waiting for him to return, but when she didn't speak a word, Raphael remained silent; full on ready to just grab a pillow and sleep on the couch, he almost yelped when she suddenly grabbed his arm when he tried to leave.

"April?" he asked timidly and his heart lurched when she saw the residual moisture in her eyes.

"Sit down. We're talking." she demanded; her voice a lot calmer than he pictured it would be.

"I'm sorry..." he grumbled miserably, hating himself more than ever when he realized he was the reason for those tears. He never felt worse in his whole life that at this very moment; wanting to reach over and wipe those big droplets that stained her cheeks but was worried his hand would be slapped away. He sat down next to her, hands fidgeting in his lap - the dread filling his stomach as to what exactly she was going to say. Sure, they'd fought before but he had never outright been mean to her until tonight; he didn't even want to fathom the repercussions it would cause should she decide to end their relationship...if she did, he'd never recover... Hot boiling regret filled his stomach and the normally self-assured Raphael was filled with fear on what she was about to say...

"Raph...as inconsiderate as your words were tonight...you were right."

"I'm sorry, April, please don't - ...Wait. W-What?!" Raph yelped, never believing those words would ever fall from his girlfriend's lips.

"Ever since I started college, it's just hard to find time to work out like I used to. I mean, I try to hit the treadmill on occasion, but compared to what I was a year ago, it's kinda depressing how out of shape I've gotten."

"...What?!" Raph asked, tempted to pinch himself to see if this was some dream.

"I had some time to think it over, and now that I'm getting used to being back in school, I had a great idea - why don't you train me? I mean, we spend a lot of time together anyway, why not just workout for some of it? Who knows? It could be fun - just like it was in Northampton."

"...WHAT!?"

"I'm asking you to train me, Raphael. It should be the least you could do after me a lazy slacker tonight."

"I didn't call you lazy!"

"You might as well have! Listen, just because your whole life centers around ninjitsu and patrolling and whatever the hell else goes on in that big head of yours, you need to understand that I'm a bit different, Raphael. I have to work my ass of every single day in college, it's not like I can just do what I want all day!"

"I know that! I support you, you know that! I was being a smart-ass, alright?! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been saying anything! I should have been carrying you when you were having trouble keepin' up, I just... I know how important your independence is to you and I didn't want to say anything, I just... God, I'm such an asshole..."

"Glad we finally agree on something..." April muttered, arms crossed over her chest.

Raph's face fell and April felt her heart flinch in her chest at the sight. He was so adorably pathetic and obviously apologetic it almost hurt; a soft sigh left her throat and she reached over to touch his forearm.

Big green eyes met her blue and she gave him a tight smile.

"I never meant to make you cry, April...I'm so sorry." he said and the astonishment and ease of which he said the words was even surprising to him considering the difficulty he had in apologizing for anything.

"I am too. I shouldn't have blown up like that. So...you'll train me?"

"Yeah. Sure." he replied a bit reluctantly; hoping he didn't find some way to screw that up too.

"Good. I can't wait." she replied and Raph's heart soared when she leaned forward and kissed his mouth.

Raph smirked against her lips and returned it, fully ready to lay her down to continue the make-out session when the redhead pulled away from his mouth and lay down. The terrapin's smirk grew as he was about to lay next to her when suddenly, her bare foot was pressed firmly against his plastron; keeping him from crawling into the bed beside her.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, arms folded behind her head as she looked up at the red-banded turtle questioningly.

"...Is this a trick question? I'm gonna sleep with you."

"Like hell you are." she smirked, "Go sleep on the couch."

Raph just stared in bewilderment for only a second when suddenly had a pillow thrown in his face and he sputtered into the cotton.

"What the hell?" Raph grumbled after he pulled the fluffy object away from his face.

"Have fun sleeping on the couch." April singsonged; getting comfortable on his bed.

"...Wait, what? But I thought that-"

"I may have forgiven you but that doesn't change the fact that you were a complete asshole tonight. Maybe you'll have better luck tomorrow."

"B-B-But I-"

"Goodnight." she said, rolling over to face the wall and Raph was left staring at her back in shock.

Raph stood there a good three minutes hoping she'd change her mind but when she didn't even acknowledge him, he had no choice than to take the dreaded walk of shame to the den. His heavy weight made the couch creek and he full on intended to ignore the knowing smirk Leonardo was sending his way from his spot in front of the television.

"...Trouble in paradise?"

"Shut up." the hotheaded terrapin growled, throwing the pillow at the blue-banded turtle to the tune of said older brother laughing his ass off.


	26. Training Daze

**Afterglow - Chapter 26  
**

 **Rated: T**

 **Training Daze**

 _Chapter Summary: April starts a new training regiment and Raphael is not too eager to help out - well, at first anyway... *wink* ...maybe it has something to do with those tight pants..._

* * *

Raphael was a turtle of many secrets.

Over the course of his nearly two year relationship with April, he's told her many - or was _coerced_ into telling her, some secrets he'd striven to hide, but in the end, she found them out anyway. Opening up to her about these things though was not only difficult, but damn near impossible and lead to many an argument over the course of their two years together (both of them being damn stubborn after all.)

It was understandable if you looked at it from Raph's point of view - here he was, a strong, brash, ninja warrior who reeked machismo and fortitude. So for him to admit to his gut-wrenching, debilitating, and rather embarrassing fear of cockroaches and mostly his anxiety stemming from getting attached to the beautiful redhead, whom he was certain would get bored and leave him for another, was damned near impossible. It took a lot of time and tender loving from April to finally convince him, at least a little, that she in fact _did_ love him like crazy and didn't have plans to leave him - yet at least. She'd said it with a wink and sexy smile, so Raph ignored that connotation. April had always been feisty and a wee-bit enamored with getting under his shell so her ease at which she bantered and teased him about it only calmed those fears to retreat further into the back of his mind.

One secret Raphael hid nicely stowed away in the back of his slightly deranged mind was - shall we say - fetish?

It wasn't a particular body part like feet or other strange or even demented stuff he'd found on the internet (he shuttered the thought).

It was more of an attribute than anything - which was a strange attraction to physically strong girls - one who could and would kick his ass at a moment's notice.

Strange, right? Especially coming from the very competitive Raphael who hated anyone, especially his brothers whenever they'd occasionally gain the upper hand on the training mat - but a woman to do so however?

 _Hot DAMN..._

So, while April could pack a punch in her own right, she was still just a young human woman - a thin one who tipped the scales at 125 lbs soaking wet. So, for the 350-ish lb Raphael, April could hardly be considered sparring or even _strong_ material. The red-banded terrapin didn't really put much serious thought when she approached him wanting to train with him much like they did at Northampton. He wanted to do so for her and the fact that she even asked was rather flattering and it meant they could spend more time together; considering the redhead was stuck in college for at least 50 hours a week. That wasn't even counting all the homework she brought home with her, so to have an excuse to spend time and get to touch her while doing so was a-okay in his book.

So, he'd agreed, and damn, did she know how to still surprise him after all this time...

* * *

The first day he'd rolled over in bed and didn't find her next to him, he was a bit peeved. Since she'd been staying at the lair he'd come to enjoy just having her in his bed and to wake up and not find her was rather disheartening. In his early morning grumpiness, he stumbled out of bed with nothing more than his mask and a scowl. He'd walked through the darkened lair looking for her, wondering if he'd find her in the bathroom or kitchen but before he could make it past the hallway, he stopped in his tracks when he seen a dim light coming from the dojo. The spell sleep still had over him completely disintegrated the second he'd walked past the threshold; he found April in nothing but incredibly tight yoga pants and a sports bra, a light sheen of sweat pasted to her brow, causing the terrapin to nearly swallow his tongue...

"Morning, sleepyhead. Boy, you sure like to sleep the day away, dontcha?" April giggled, wiping the sweat from her brow as Raphael still tried to come to terms with everything he was seeing; wondering in the back of his mind if he was still sleeping and this was a wonderful dream. "So...Now that I finished my warm-up - What do you plan on teaching me today, sensei?"

That got his mind and feet moving again, a smirk making a quick appearance on his face as he approached her. "Oh, I got _somethin'_ in mind." he growled lowly and April squealed when he suddenly began chasing her around the dojo all to the chorus of her screeching, " _Raphael, stop it!_ "

The impromptu flirting session ceased once Splinter made his appearance after hearing all the ruckus they were making; once he was under his father's watchful eye, Raphael became serious, taking her through a series of basic katas and moves he remembered her mastering back at the farm. He wanted to take it easy on her first day because he wanted her to keep coming back and not regret asking him in the first place. It went smoothly and he was happily surprised when he found her waiting eagerly for further instruction early next morning.

* * *

It had been over two weeks since they started, and while Raphael was not the most patient teacher, April knew what to expect. Once Raphael got over her boner-inducing outfit from the first day, they'd mastered simple katas, going over the basics of what April had learned from Splinter and the fellow turtles over the years. It was slow-going at first but over the course of the couple weeks of training, April relearned much of what she'd forgotten over the past year. It wasn't easy juggling training, college, and homework, but April made due and Raphael had been a great teacher thus far.

The redhead would also admit that this training also was a great way to release some of the sexual tension that had been building up since she had been staying at the lair these last couple weeks (she still was a bit apprehensive about facing her dad and the neighbors again, so she'd just extended her stay at the lair.) Being with him running around and getting sweaty was not even comparable to sex, but it still felt great to be with him and spend time with him this way...even if seeing him strutting around and using those glorious muscles was making her more sexually frustrated than ever knowing she couldn't just jump his bones with the obvious fact they could be walked in on at almost any time.

But what made it bearable was their banter they'd had back and forth (without Splinter there, obviously). It was fun just to get under his shell and flirt with him just like they did in Northampton without ever having much more intimate contact. It was like a little game they had developed and as much as she'd rather have sex, this would have to do for now...

Because there was no way in hell she was having sex at the lair...

* * *

Every morning at roughly 4 am, she'd wake up, change, and do a warm up while she'd wait for him in the dojo. It was a routine they'd quickly developed and April had religiously stuck to it for over a month now and it was obvious she was quickly improving. Although she'd had many strengths, her physical being was never one of them, but what Raphael didn't suspect when he began training her was that April was stronger than she looked; even surpassing the strength she had at Northampton in a very short amount of time. Over the course of weeks they'd been doing this, he'd spar with her (going easy on her of course) near the end of their session to see her prove exactly what she learned - and to his surprise, she'd wound up catching him off guard.

In the slightest moment of hesitation, Raph found himself being thrown back onto the mat with a loud thud from a rather strong punch to his jaw.

"Wow. Didn't think you'd be so distracted with this outfit considering the amount of times you've seen me naked." April didn't waste any time in mocking him, hands fisted on her hips as she stared down at Raphael who was slightly wobbling on his shell on the flat dojo floor. While his cheek stung something awful and there were still white spots in his vision, he wasn't really complaining because this view was giving him a great view of her bare legs and the underside of her breasts, which had gotten a bit sweaty during their workout.

"Don't get cocky, you've only been at it a month." he smirked, rolling himself to a seated position.

"I think getting cocky is your job..." April replied with a sultry wink as she helped him back up to his feet.

"Heh. Don't be saying that unless you plan to back up those words, O'Neil." he replied, getting closer to her than he had in awhile. Their romance had pretty much sizzled since she'd been at the lair; their only physical contact had been going to bed at night but even then, it was no more than light kissing and cuddling before falling asleep. They hadn't had sex in over a month, and now, here she was, feisty and sexy; her skin glinting with a light sheen of sweat; and not to mention, she just knocked him to the floor with a rough punch to his face...

Raphael couldn't remember the last time he'd been **so** turned on...

"Then why don't you come to get me then?" she said, lightly backing away, breaking him out of his trance and causing the pressure in Raph's shell to tighten uncomfortably at those words filled with innuendos.

Without replying, he rushed toward her, his plans of going easy on her brushed to the wayside after she dodged all of his moves. The second he stopped making light punches toward her, Raph caught the motion of her leg preparing a kick and as soon as it was airborne and making a beeline toward his head, he quickly ducked under it, twisting around before grasping her around the waist. He took her down to the mat, careful not to put any of weight on her as her back met the tatami mat.

April struggled in vein for only a second, allowing her arms to plop down; strewn loosely over her head. Her lips quirked in a sexy smirk as he lowered himself to his elbows, his snout so close to her face, he almost brushed his nose over hers.

Raph's heart skipped a beat when she began laughing, her warm minty breath skirting along his face, arms moving to wrap around his shoulders. He didn't even notice when his guard dropped completely; her legs opening and allowing him to press himself flush against her sweaty body. He swallowed a sudden lump that clogged his throat when blue eyes became heavily-lidded and flicked down to his lips, which he licked in response to her gaze. His eyes slipped closed and he hurriedly closed the distance between their mouths, meeting her soft mouth and drowning in her warmth and feel of her body.

 _God, he missed this..._

The redhead smirked against his lips; her own overstimulated hormones were completely ignored as she firmly wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs made their way between his thighs. With strength Raphael didn't know she possessed, she'd managed to catch him off-guard a second time; rolling him to his back by using the fact he was convex on one side being used to her every advantage.

With nothing more than an uncharacteristic yelp, Raphael was suddenly wobbling on his shell and April sat smugly atop his plastron, arms crossed over her breasts and wearing a shit-eating grin.

Indistinct mumbling began running out of Raphael's mouth at the fact he'd been played, _"What the hell!?", "That wasn't **fair**!", "You can't just kiss me like that!"_ Hearing him rant about it, April would never guess he was still as turned on as fuck and trying desperately not to embarrass himself and descend especially when his father could easily walk in any second.

"All is fair in love and war, Raphie." April sing-songed, the use of his dreaded childhood nickname she learned from Mikey _(the little shit)_ making his cheeks flush a crimson red.

A second later while not being able to do much but lay on his back and look up at her; heart hammering much like it did the first time she kissed him. He couldn't help but smile up at her; admitting if that meant he had to get his ass handed to him now and again - April would _definitely_ be his first choice.


	27. Pregnancy Scare and April Fools!

**Afterglow - Chapter 27**

 **Rated: T**

 **Pregnancy Scare and April Fools Jokes**

 _Chapter Summary: It_ _'s April Fools Day and somehow, Mikey gets involved...need I say more?_

* * *

Raphael should have known; he really should have...

Having Michelangelo as a younger brother pretty much guaranteed that pranks were nearly a daily occurrence in the Hamato household - the red-banded terrapin growing used to the frequency and intensity of said pranks over the course of his lifespan. They ranged from finding plastic or rubber cockroaches in the shower all the way up to putting fuckin' live ones on his pizza (the youngest turtle still had the scar from that particular rampage). To make a long story short, with Michelangelo as a little brother, you just didn't know what prank would be waiting around the corner, or under your pillow; after 18 years, Raphael had believed he'd seen them all...but, oh little did he knew how wrong he was about to be...

...and for once he didn't see it coming...

April 1st and what should have been a normal day was disturbed when his girlfriend came through the turnstiles after attending her one morning class at college. It was a bit strange when the redhead came in without the normal spring in her step or cheery greeting. He couldn't ponder for long when April approached him as he sat alone on the couch, reading a magazine when she stopped to stand in front of him. In the corner of his eye, he saw her face and the first thing he notices was that she appeared apprehensive and nervous.

That should have been his first warning...

Green eyes glanced up above the top of the motorcycle monthly mag and fully looked at his girlfriend. Brows furrowed as to what cold be the matter and knowing April, it was probably something he did wrong but somehow forgot about... Oh crap, did he leave the toilet seat up again?

"Hey, Raph..." April said, interrupting his inner monologue.

"Hmm?" he muttered in reply, lowering the reading material from his face a bit in order to look up at her.

"I have something to tell you." April continued and Raphael's heart jumped into his chest.

 _That wasn't_ _ **at all**_ _what he was expecting._

"What is it?" Raphael reiterated, sitting up straighter.

"I-It's really important.." she whispered and the look in her eyes had him swallowing back a lump that clogged his windpipe.

Raph went silent, thoroughly freaked out by how April was acting. Her eyes were wide and troubled, and for some reason, both of her hands still remained behind her back.

 _That should have been another clue..._

"What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Raph asked, finally standing to his feet and grasping lightly at one of her arms to pull her slightly closer to him; his heart continued to hammer away in his chest.

April's other arm that still rested behind her back suddenly appeared, a weird small plastic device presented in her dainty fingers. Raph's brows furrowed as he stared at it, not exactly sure what it was but knew it looked strangely familiar...where had he seen it before?

"I-I'm pregnant, Raph..." April whispered and suddenly, everything went silent.

Raphael's eyes bugged out as he stared at the small plastic stick and all of a sudden, there was no noise, only the sound of the pulse hammering in his eardrums. Time seemed to stop as he looked at what was no doubt a pregnancy test then back at his girlfriend over and over again, her words striking him deep in his soul...

His first thought was it was impossible.

He was a mutated turtle - she was a human...well, human, Kraang-hybrid, but human nonetheless! A mutant turtle and human-Kraang hybrid _couldn't_ procreate! It wasn't possible!

 _...or was it?_

All of a sudden, pieces started falling into place... (combining all the research he'd done of the female human anatomy and their reproductive cycle and whatnot stemming from the first time April mentioned her period). he realized their last time having sex was a little over a month ago and they never used protection, because why would they? They never even thought about it! ...But come to think of it, he couldn't remember her mentioning having her period lately or even smelling a hint of blood as of late...

 _...Oh God..._ was the only thought that crossed his mind before his world went black.

"April...Fools?" April muttered just milliseconds after her boyfriend's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the floor in a heap. She yelped and kneeled next to the passed-out turtle as Mikey's laughter suddenly rang out from his hiding place behind the couch.

* * *

April knew this was a bad idea from the start.

When the youngest turtle came to her with his big baby blue eyes and hopes and dreams of playing the ultimate April Fools Day prank on his hotheaded brother - April couldn't find it in her heart to say no. The redhead agreed to help but little did she know exactly what the orange-banded turtle had in mind. All she really recalled after his explanation of faking a pregnancy to her boyfriend was her face turning an ungodly shade of red and her exclaiming "You want me to do _**WHAT**_!?" before large, light green hands were shoved unceremoniously over her mouth to mumble her exclamation.

Michelangelo begged her to remain calm and telling her the fact she already pinky-promised as if it was comparable to signing her name in blood on an ancient scroll. Her fate was sealed and by Mikey standards, if she did back out or give a hint to Raph on the plan, she would be sorry... There were enough horror stories told by the rest of his brothers that Mikey would _indeed_ keep that promise and the last thing she needed was the youngest turtle having a chance to blackmail her into doing something stupid...or putting her through one of his infamous pranks.

To make a long story short - she reluctantly agreed.

April even went out to buy a cheap pregnancy test, and was relieved to know she didn't need to make a fake positive one because Raphael wouldn't know the difference between a negative and positive one anyway - most people had trouble figuring them out, let alone a mutant turtle with very little knowledge of the subject. After making it back to the lair, Mikey went over with her what she was being told to do and April was prepared for the shit to hit the fan the second the words left her mouth...

...but she was not expecting this...

The story went off without a hitch but the second Raphael hit the floor was when none of this was funny anymore. She was certain she had never seen her boyfriend's eyes wider and while she was expecting such a reaction, him passing out was not one she anticipated.

Currently, she was ignoring Mikey's onslaught of laughter while tending to her boyfriend, who proceeded to wobble precariously on his shell upon the flat living room floor.

"Oh my God, Raph! Are you okay!?" April screeched, shaking his shoulders which only caused him to wobble further, and that seemingly made the situation even more hilarious to Michelangelo, who curled behind the couch holding his stomach as the guffawing intensified. "Ugh, Mikey! I **told** you this was a bad idea!" April continued to the tune of what seemed to be all-encompassing hilarity.

* * *

It was half an hour later when the unconscious turtle finally woke up.

Donnie and Leo were able to move him to his room and Splinter had a few choice words for Mikey once April told him the situation... Yet even with Sensei behind her, April knew somehow this would all come back to bite her in the ass...

That didn't matter the second her boyfriend opened his bright green eyes. Before April could say a word, she was stunned into complete silence when Raphael suddenly became aware of her presence and the first thing he did was reach over to gently rest his large hand upon her flat stomach...

 _Wow, karma really doesn't take a break, does it?_

Yet April could not speak, only take in how sincere his eyes were - how she could read the depths of those green pools so easily that it _hurt_. She went in expecting anger and the dreaded question _"how could you let this happen?"_ but instead was greeted with acceptance and if she was mistaken - happiness? There was the softest smile gracing the edges of his lips and the cruelness of this prank only twisted in her gut further.

"I-I'm not pregnant. It was a joke." she blurted out and all to soon, the look upon his face disappeared and hand retreated. His eyes met hers and she swore her heart broke in two.

"...Y-You're not?" he asked; his voice small and raspy.

"No. I'm not - It's April Fools." she reiterated, hating herself for ever agreeing to this in the first place... Mikey sure had hell to pay...and she didn't understand the new feeling that was occurring within her.

"Oh." he replied after only a moment, looking rather embarrassed and rubbing the bump on the back of his head; looking away from her to stare blankly at some random poster on his wall.

...was he... _disappointed?_

It was quiet for what felt like an eternity before he spoke again, "Heh. Guess you got me pretty good, huh?" he continued and his chuckle never sounded more forced. "Nice one, O'Neil."

April's stomach tightened when he smiled at her and she felt tears built in her eyes and one of them escaped down her cheek. Raphael didn't comment on her tears, only indication he even noticed was his smile deflating and he gave her a silent once-over.

"You would've been okay if I was pregnant...wouldn't you." April stated more than asked.

"Of course I would." he replied to it anyway.

The ease of which he said those words was enough to break whatever spell fell over her. Falling forward to lay on his chest, she pressed her face pressed into his throat. "I'm sorry, Raph. I told Mikey it was a stupid idea! I didn't want to do it but -"

"April, it's okay. I mean, that was a good one and it's been a long time since one of Mikey's pranks actually worked on me." he said and this time, his smile looked genuine. "...and if by some miracle we'd even be able to have kids, I'd take responsibility for it. I love you and I'd love any little turtle-human-Kraang-ish freaky hybrid children we'd make." he continued in a serious tone and after pulling back to get a look at his face, April couldn't help but chuckle at the mental image it brought to her mind; picturing little mutant turtles with blue or green eyes, red hair, and pink tentacle arms was quite disturbing yet strangely adorable at the same time.

"...Really?"

"Yeah...Although, I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda relieved you're not though." he continued after a moment with a shrug of his massive shoulders and April's smile fell a little, "I mean, let's face it April; I doubt either of us are ready to be parents, but if it was possible and it did happen...I'd be happy..." he finished, reaching over to grab her small hands in his large mitts.

"Me too..." April admitted, her cheeks pleasantly flushed as he brought her in for another hug; the redhead melted into his embrace, smiling widely when he kissed the side of her face. These following moments were silent and comforting as she relaxed in his thickly-muscled arms; well, until his next comment ruined it.

"Heh...but you did freak me the fuck out, O'Neil. Maybe we should start thinking of using protection."

April just snorted at his statement, "Yeah, right! If there was any chance you could get me pregnant, I would have got pregnant a _looooong_ time ago." she defended, pushing away from him to glare at the terrapin.

"You just don't want to shell out the extra dough for those extra, extra, _extra_ large condoms, huh? Notice the XXX thing I did there?" he said with a smug chuckle and wiggle of his brows that April couldn't help but smack his plastron.

"Such a smug, little ass." April groaned and yelped when she found herself underneath him on the bed. How did he move so _fast_?

"Oh, there's nothing _little_ about me..." he growled into her neck, making her gasp when he suddenly pushed himself flush with her body.

"Definitely not your ego, that's for damn sure." April muttered against the top of his head as he continued his ministrations on her neck.

"Y'know you love it babe..." he said, giving her neck one last kiss before pulling himself up on his elbows to look at her.

April couldn't help but smile at him, her arms happily encircling his neck and she was prepared to pull his mouth closer to hers...

"Ooh! Looks like I may be an uncle after all!" Mikey's voice suddenly rang out from the now open door and the couple flew from each other until April was left sitting on the bed and Raphael was standing near the end of it. "Oops... Don't mind me. I just stopped by to say no hard feelings...right, April?"

April just stared at the youngest turtle and for once those big baby blue eyes were not working on her. "Get him, Raph."

"With pleasure." her boyfriend replied while cracking his knuckles; before April could blink, Raphael was chasing the screeching youngest turtle out the door.

April screamed after her boyfriend, "Don't kill him!"

"Can't promise that!" Raph screamed back.

The second the two were out of sight and earshot, April plopped back down on the bed with a sigh and a smile; daydreaming about a little girl with messy red hair and big green eyes...


	28. Spring Fever - Part 1

**Afterglow**

 **Rated: M**

 **Spring Fever Part 1**

 _Chapter Summary: Raphael_ _'s a turtle...and it's spring...that's about all the info you need._

* * *

It started out little at first.

Winter was clinging to New York like a stubborn cold; not wanting to let up much further into the year than the terrapin was used to seeing. It wasn't until the month of April when things started to change, flowers began blooming and the sky was still light after 7pm. It was a beautiful time of year and it was becoming close to his favorite season: summer, where the warm days and nights fulfilled his cold-blooded nature best and the time of year that the most animalistic side of him looked forward to most.

During the hubbub and everything occurring, Raphael seemed to forgot a different change that was happening; this time with his own body. April was still living in the lair part-time; it'd been over a month a half since she moved in and Raphael had grown accustomed to being around her more often(when she wasn't in college or studying).

Something drastic slipped his mind when little things about her began bothering him more than usual; south of the equator so to speak. Clothes she'd worn a hundred times seemed tighter, sexier than usual... The effect she began having on him was much more profound and he began trying to seek more alone time with her: which with a lair full of his brothers and father was not an easy task.

April seemed none the wiser about his need to be closer to her; after all, it had been a long time since they were intimate, she suspected it was the reason. Like any teenage boy, he was just sexually frustrated and if she was honest, she was feeling the effects of it herself. April just shrugged off these thoughts because there was no way she was returning to her house just to do the deed and sex in the lair was _not_ happening. If she had to live with being horny, so did he, but little did she know, Raphael had no control over his now.

It was a few days later things began showcasing themselves in a new light.

* * *

Raphael groaned into consciousness; dawn still hours away and training the farthest thing from his mind when he opened blurry eyes. The darkness didn't bother him; green reptilian eyes glowing in his black bedroom. First thing Raphael realized was he was spooning April, her hair tickling his face, warm back pressed to his plastron and his groin cradled firmly against her warm, plump ass. He groaned in satisfaction, closing his eyes and preparing to fall back asleep when he noticed something rather embarrassing...

...he was fully erect...

Flying back from her as if had just been burned, he didn't even realize he'd fallen off the bed until he landed with a loud thump on the hard cement floor. He stared in shock at the wet hardened tip of his flared penis; he hadn't woken up like this since he was going through puberty...

"Hrnmp... R-Raph, what are _doing_? It's two in the morning..." April grumbled sleepily into the pillow before trying and failing to maneuver into a seated position.

"I-It's nothing, April. Go back to sleep." he said quickly, his hands on her guiding her to lay back down; not wanting her to see the state he was in now. As tempting as it was to crawl back into bed with the lovely redhead, he knew April would say no and scream at him even if he tried to suggest the idea of sex in the lair to her.

April mumbled something into the pillow but within seconds it was obvious she'd already fallen back asleep.

" _Dammit_..." Raphael more or less growled to himself as he quickly headed out of the room; hands covering himself in a desperate attempt to hide his erection praying that no one else was awake to see him in such a debilitating and embarrassing situation. He hightailed it to the bathroom, locked the door, and immediately jumped into a frigid shower in the frantic hope that the cold water would deflate his throbbing erection. After five minutes under the constant icy stream, Raphael was horrified to discover that the cold water only succeeded in making the rest of his body freezing cold. His entire being shivered with what was probably early-onset hypothermia as his erection remained stubbornly standing strong and proud.

He did not like this.

Raphael did not like this one bit...

Ever since he'd been in a sexual relationship with April, he avoided masturbating because why would he when he had a hot girlfriend to sleep with? Yet, here he was alone in a frigid shower with his hand furiously jacking off just to get rid of the damn thing. Suddenly, he erupted with a low growl, thick tendrils of white semen squirted from his penis and onto the bathroom drain; it seemed to go on forever before it finally let up and the water was clear again.

"What the fuck is going on?" Raph groaned, allowing the orgasm to wash over him and it wasn't even pleasurable - it just freaked him out. He felt ashamed; like his 13 year old sexually frustrated self when he found his first skin mag in the trash and furiously masturbating to it whenever he got the chance. As his penis pulled back into his shell, Raphael held himself up, hands bracing along the shower rails. As he stared at his distorted reflection of the shower walls he had no idea why this was happening; knowing it was not going to be solved right now as he felt the effects an orgasm usually had on him; the drowsiness weighing on his mind as he stepped out of the shower to towel off. Raphael hoped to God it was just a fluke and this wouldn't be happening again.

Oh, how wrong he was...

* * *

If April had noticed a shift in the Hamato household as of late, today's breakfast was her first indication that something may be amiss.

Raphael was still asleep when she crawled over him and out of bed; did her morning routine of showering and brushing her teeth before heading to the kitchen to get some caffeine if she was going to survive the long upcoming day at college.

"Mornin', Don." she muttered, pulling her damp hair into a small ponytail as she entered the kitchen. The purple banded turtle was half asleep in his cup of coffee when she decided to make her appearance; which seemed to have a greater impact on him than she could have expected...

"Hi, April!" Donnie screeched, sitting up straight and giving her the biggest dopiest smile.

"Hey..." April replied, a bit weirded out by her friend's behavior, but ignored it as she headed over to half-empty the coffee pot. "So...what do you have going on today?" she continued when a sudden silence swept over the he didn't answer even after she applied heavy doses of cream and sugar in her cup, she turned around and nearly dropped her drink when she saw that he was staring at her... Which he'd done on occasion before she entered a relationship with his brother, but this was a different look altogether.

"Um...Donnie?" she asked to no response.

Donatello continued to look at her seemingly lost in his own thoughts, brown eyes highly dihilated and the weight of them was making her uncomfortable real fast...

"Donnie!" she yelled suddenly and that worked. The genius terrapin shrieked when she realized what he had been doing and immediately spun back around in his stool and buried his face into his arms with a pained groan. "Are you okay?" April continued a few seconds later; genuinely concerned over his welfare and mindset.

"I-I'm sorry, April...Ugh, It's just been a long night... Mixing this anti-mutagen really is driving me crazy lately." he replied as way of explanation into his cup of coffee as April walked over to the other side of the island to sit in her normal stool next to Raphael's.

"Heh... Uh, it's alright - I understand. Speaking of crazy, I have a fifteen page paper in Biology due in a couple weeks that's really kicking my ass and-"

"I can help!" he screeched suddenly but any awkwardness that would have time to develop diminished when Leo and Mikey entered the kitchen.

"Donnie! April!" Mikey yelped excitedly, immediately burying her in a hug and giving her a rather rough noogie.

"Morning, Mike...Leo." April groaned at his rough affection before the youngest pulled away to steal his brother's spot yet the redhead said nothing to deter the highly affectionate turtle.

"Good Morning, April. Sleep well?" Leo replied while going about making tea and it appeared he was the only one acting completely normal this morning.

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Where's Raph?" Leo asked but April didn't have time to answer when Raphael strut into the kitchen, his eyes mere slits as he glared daggers at Michelangelo, who had the audacity to be in such close proximity to his girlfriend _and_ sit in his chair...

"Mikey..." Raph growled, the warning not even having much semblance of its desired effect for said brother barely glanced at him. That was enough to warrant Raphael practically seething as he closed the distance between himself and his youngest brother. Mikey squealed when Raphael suddenly bounded in aggression toward the orange-banded turtle; shooting out from his seat and hightailed it out of there with the hotheaded terrapin in hot pursuit.

April was more or less stunned into silence as she watched this all take place; wondering if she'd missed something that happened between the two to warrant Raphael's actions. Because, sure, Raph was normally a grumpy guy, but this was just out of control grouch-fest.

"So, April," Donnie muttered out of nowhere, turning her attention back to the genius instead of yelling at her boyfriend like she was about to, "You informed me that you required help with your paper? I-I'm available at anytime you know; especially if you are struggling with deciding upon a topic. So, what are you planning on writing it on? Oh, I have this quite intriguing article you may like; I'm sure even your father heard about it since he is rather prominent in this area of scientific studies, it's -"

"Just shut yer trap, Don!" Raph growled from right beside April causing her to jump and the purple-banded terrapin to launch back as if afraid of being punched by by the volital brother.

"Raph! Holy crap, you _scared_ me. What is up with you this morning?!" April said rather loudly and that's when she noticed how quickly his eyes cleared up; his dilated irises returned to normal and he looked at her in shock as if he'd just awoken from a trance.

" **Yamero**!" Splinter suddenly bellowed as he walked into the kitchen. "Why are you boys _always_ insist on being late to meditation?"

"Sorry, Sensei." the four turtles answered in unison, Mikey's voice coming from behind his father.

"Let's go." he said in a demanding tone before all of them left April alone on the kitchen where she just tried to figure out what the hell just happened.

* * *

It only got crazier during an after-school ninjitsu session with her favorite terrapin.

The training was going as usual and he was seemingly back to his old self compared to earlier this morning. Raphael went through katas, correcting her stance and instructing her through new moves. It was actually shaping up to be a rather decent practice until midway through their final spar; it was then Raph became a different person; his eyes became glazed over and every move he used was just like second nature. April wouldn't lie - it freaked her the fuck , she moved, she thought maybe this was his way of pushing her and she went along with it. Meeting his moves for a little while before it became obvious he was using more strength than she was used to being on the receiving end of. April tried to keep up with him as fast as she could, but it was an uphill battle and within moments, she found herself underneath his body.

April was about to tell him to get off of her but was stunned into complete silence when his mouth suddenly enveloped hers. His wide tongue seeking entrance immediately and the redhead was too shocked to prevent it. If anything, she just melted, the heat and feel of his form above hers (not to mention his mouth) was incredible; something she admitted she desperately missed. One of his hands moved in between her back and the floor, picking her up slightly to better control the kiss without putting too much weight on her fragile body.

A moment later his mouth and tongue left her own to began exploring her neck was when she realized was she was allowing to happen. Suddenly tensing under him, April placed one hand on the inner curve of his elbow and the other on his plastron, she used all her strength to push him away. The second he realized what had happened, Raphael's eyes cleared up, opening wide and he stared at her in shock.

"What's up with you today?" April asked, her eyes just as wide as his while staring up at him.

Raphael wasn't exactly sure what had happened, they were sparring when he next thing he knew they were making out on the dojo floor. It was like he had became possessed and his own bodily urges were allowed to control his mind...something he didn't like one bit... It was like that brain worm all over again...

"Raph? What's wrong?" April asked, lithe hand lifting in order to cradle his cheek. "Are you alright? You're pale - your skintone looks like a spring onion now." April nervously chuckled hoping laughing would get him back into his right mind.

That's when it hit him...

Spring...? _Spring_. **Spring**! That was it!

Within seconds, Raphael was physically sighing in relief; a great weight that seemed viable was lifted off his shoulders as he sat up onto the dojo floor and helping her into a seating position as well.

"Um...You okay now?" April asked, her eyes wide and freaked out as much as he looked just a few moments ago.

"I'm a fuckin' idiot. It's _spring_."

"...Yeah...?"

" _That's_ why I'm so fuckin' horny; things have been so nuts lately, guess I just forgot. I mean, damn, I should have realized I was just in heat..."

"You forgot? That's kind of a big thing to just forget, Raphael."

"Hey, cut me some slack, O'Neil. I haven't gotten laid in over a month." Raph grumbled and he looked so hopelessly pathetic that April couldn't help but smile at him.

"So, that one night you said you recover fast and you said 'you're gonna love me in spring'...what did you mean by that?"

"I'm just horny as fuck all the time is all."

April just looked at him strangely, a lot of questions she wanted to ask but was apprehensive if he'd even want to answer them. To hell with it she thought before asking, "So, this is something you go through every year, right?"

"Mmm-hmm." he replied with a stiff nod.

"Then why does it seem to be bothering you more now? You weren't like this last year."

"Heh...Eh..." he said, uncharacteristically stuttering and rubbing the back of his head nervously; his cheeks flushed dark red as his green eyes turned to stare at the floor rather than her. "Well...I'd rather not say..."

One look from April had the turtle confessing.

"Okay, every year before this...I took care of it..."

April just look confused. "What do you mean?"

"Oh God, do I have to draw it out for you!?" Raph groaned, standing to his feet and pacing; his steps heavy as he walked.

"If it'll help." she replied cheekily, earning herself a glare from the still-blushing terrapin. _God, he's so fuckin' cute..._ she muttered internally; a warm sensation brewing in her belly.

"Fine. I jacked off whenever the urge would hit back then. It's kinda difficult now and I dunno, it's weird doing that when I have you...except you know, we're not doin' it now... So, I guess instead of getting off whenever the urge hits, I just ignore it and get my mind on other things. It just got outta hand whenever I see you - l-like now..."

"What?"

"I mean...just fuckin' _look_ at you." he muttered and April was taken aback at how sad he sounded. "You're just so _gorgeous_ and being around you and not being able to touch just is drivin' me out of my fuckin' mind..." As soon as he finished speaking, Raph went back to sitting on the floor, his eyes now glued upon the tatami mat.

April just stared at him then looked down at herself; she was gross, her hair a mess, and she reeked of sweat...how could be possibly think she was beautiful right now? Her heart swelled when she looked at him and wondered how long she'd been unintentionally torturing the poor guy.

"Raph..." April tsked, going over to sit next to him. "I'm sorry, you should have told me."

"Yeah, and look fuckin' pathetic...can't even control my own penis?" he muttered, suddenly finding his hands very intriguing for his eyes didn't leave them.

April just smiled, hands lifting to cradle his adorable face. She leaned forward and kissed him soundly on his mouth, feeling him tremble a bit while doing so. "If it makes you feel better, I have a hard time controlling myself too; you get me pretty worked up sometimes." she softly admitted and her heart thrummed faster when his smirk returned.

"I know." he replied with a knowing smirk and wiggle of his brows and she cursed his incredible sense of smell.

"So, I think for now, it's best if I move back home. I'd rather not risk anyone walkin' in on us."

"Yeah. I think so too." he replied, leaning in for a kiss and April couldn't help but return it; arms immediately encircling his shoulders. Lost in her warmth, the only thought crossing Raph's mind was ' _maybe this spring fever won't be so bad after all...'_


	29. Spring Fever - Part 2 (NSFW)

**Afterglow**

 **Rated: M**

 **Spring Fever - Part 2  
**

 _Chapter Summary: Raphael finally gets some much needed_ _'mating season' urges met in the sexiest way possible..._

* * *

 **This was the funnest I've had with a chapter in awhile; it basically wrote itself and considering it's over 5,000 words, that's saying something lol. Oh, and thanks for** **100** **reviews! Wow! You guys have no idea how much I love reading all of your thoughts on this story! They always make my day! :-) Y'all are the reason I keep writing. Hope you enjoy this mating season debauchery! Xoxo**

* * *

April O'Neil made her way through the sewers for the first time in over a week. It'd been absolute torture for the redhead; tiring amounts of homework and preparation for finals for the semester in her grasp. As nice as it was to almost be done with another semester under her belt, it wore on her because she barely had any time for herself, not to mention her boyfriend, who she missed _desperately_. So as soon as her final class ended on Friday, April sprung back to her house to pack a weekend bag because, _damn_ , she deserved a relaxing weekend with her boyfriend. With arms full of soda and junk food and a bright smile lighting up her face despite it being after eight, she walked through the turnstiles.

"Hello! Anyone here?" she called; in retrospect, she admitted she should have called or sent a text ahead of time but it was always funner to surprise her mutant family. Passing the deserted living room, she almost ran straight into Leo, Donnie, and Mikey.

"Hey, guys!" the redhead greeted the group with a smile.

"Hey, April." Donnie replied with his usual wave and a gaped-tooth grin.

"Good evening, April." Leo responded with a respectful nod.

"April!" the youngest gasped, leaping to her side and began furiously digging in the grocery bags. "Is this all for me!? Aw, April! Ya shouldn't have!"

The redhead just laughed, cheekily removing a few of the goodies from Mikey's arms but he managed to keep hold of a candy bar and begin eating it.

"Mikey!" Leo shouted, trying and failing to remove the chocolate bar from the orange-banded turtle. "Don't eat that **now** , we're going on patrol!"

"You are? Well, isn't Raph going with you? Um...where's he at anyway?" April butted in, taking notice that the hotheaded terrapin was nowhere to be found.

Leo's eye-roll answered a lot of questions. "Don't get me started." the leader huffed, finally grasping away the half-eaten Snickers from the youngest brother to said turtle's exclamation of _"Hey! I was eating that, dude!"_

"Mikey, you don't need anymore sugar; stop it." Raph told Mikey and the epic pout and big baby blue eyes didn't even faze the eldest brother before he turned his attention back to the redheaded girl, "Raph's not going on patrol because he has to stay home and clean the whole lair."

"Don't talk about me like I can't hear ya, _**lame-o-nardo!**_ " came a familiar angry voice from the kitchen.

April had to hide a smirk as Leo stomped over to the kitchen, pulling back the cloth that separated the two rooms where April saw Raph elbow deep in a sink full of dishes and suds and an epic pout and deep, furrowed brow ridges.

"Raph, that was totally on you. You're the one who had a temper tantrum and gave away our position last night."

"Oh, _can_ it, Fearless, if _you_ hadn't gone squealing to Sensei none of this would have happened! We got the perps anyway, so what does it matter?!" Raph growled, but the fact he had a "Kiss the Cook" apron on deterred from the seriousness of the situation and April was trying valiantly to keep from busting out in a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"What _matters_ , Raphael, is that we could have been **seen**! Do you even realize how many people walk the streets at night around that area of town? We would have been spotted for sure, and the news would be all running rampant with eyewitness testimony about huge turtles! You know how dangerous and important staying in the shadows is to us!"

"Ah, put a sock in it, Leo! All the people on that side of town are either druggies, prostitutes, or gangbangers, as if **anyone** would ever believe them!"

"It doesn't matter! You still shouldn't have -"

" **Yamero**!" Splinter said walking in and April's quick reflexes were the only thing that caused the bags to not be flung from her arms. "Will you boys _stop_ it!? What is done is done and what the city needs right now is to be patrolled. So, enough bickering and get going, you three."

"Hai, Sensei." the leader said with a bow and the blue, purple, and orange-banded turtles were off. "Let's go, ninjas!" Leo commanded and they were gone as Raph grumbled barely audible obscenities into the sink full of dishes.

"I _heard_ that, Raphael." Splinter said, causing the turtle to curl in his shell a little. "How many times must I tell you to watch your language, young man?" Splinter continued in slight aggravation, furry ears twitching as he turned to look at his troubled son.

"Sorry, Sensei." Raph replied, cheeks flushing as he went back to his task.

A resolute sigh left furry lips before his brown eyes met April's surprised blue. "Oh, good evening, Miss April. I'm sorry for all the drama; these boys can be quite difficult to handle this time of year." the elderly rat said with a sight chuckle and April saw Raph's pout only intensify from the corner of her eye.

"It's alright. It's really nice to see you, Sensei. How have you been?" April asked, smiling at the kind elderly rat as she placed the heavy bags upon the counter.

"Pretty well," he replied with a smile and gentle hand upon her shoulder, which fell immediately upon seeing the time displayed brightly on the oven light, "Oh, my. It's already so late! I wish I could catch up with you further, dear, but I must be going. I have promised Leatherhead that I would visit for quite some time and I have been putting it off." Splinter continued, straightening out his kimono.

"It's okay, we'll have tea some other time and catch up." April said with a smile.

"I would like that, dear...and Raphael, don't forget the dojo and that includes sharpening and waxing _all_ the weapons - not just your own." Splinter said the second part sternly, looking over to his son.

"Hai, Sensei." Raph replied, his hands furiously scrubbing a pan.

"Thank you, my son. I shall see you later." Splinter responded with a slight bow before leaving the lair without ever making a noise.

"...So, come here to make fun of me?" Raph grumbled when Splinter left and April was taken aback by the sadness lacing his voice.

"Why would you think that?"

"I dunno, you don't call all week and then just show up..." he mumbled with a shrug of his thickly muscled shoulders.

"Raph..." April whispered, walking around the island kitchen to stand next to the grouchy turtle. "I came over because I _missed_ you and wanted to spend the weekend with you. I brought all the snacks you like! Look! Seaweed and algae chips even if the smell alone makes me wanna retch." April exclaimed, procuring said snacks with her tongue out in slight disgust of her boyfriend's eating habits.

"Doesn't mean you shouldn't have called..." he mumbled, eyes never leaving the suds.

" _Awwww_ , did you miss me that much?" April sing-songed and heart skipped a beat as his cheeks immediately flushed crimson.

"...N-No!" he growled, completely ignoring her in lieu of finishing the dishes.

"I'm sorry, Raph." April apologized, leaning over and giving the corner of his mouth a fat wet kiss which only made him grumble and cheeks to turn nearly burgundy. "Now, how about I help you finish cleaning and we can watch a movie?" His green eyes met hers for the first time tonight and she saw how distressed the poor guy was; as long as this week was for her, it seemed to be worse off for him.

"Ya don't have to." he said begrudgingly, going back to scrubbing a cheese encrusted plate with a slightly disgusted scowl.

"I _want_ to." April assured him, placing a hand upon his shoulder.

Raphael turned back to her and nodded, an almost smirk lifting his lips and April knew at that moment all had been forgiven. A resolute sigh left her mouth as she rolled up her sleeves in preparation for a long night.

* * *

After another hour, the dishes were dried and placed in their proper spots, the floor spotless, stove top sparkling clean, and refrigerator pilfered of all rotten food and whatever Mikey deemed 'leftover masterpieces'. Raphael insisted on tossing Ice Cream Kitty down the drain when she splattered him and the once clean counter with a Neapolitan mixture of sweet gooey ice cream when they were cleaning out the freezer, but April quickly rescued the mutated cat and deterred her boyfriend with a firm wag of her finger. The terrapin didn't like the idea of leaving the cat to further make more messes and drive him crazy, but he let her be for now.

April even lost the ability to hold back her laughter when the cat hissed at the hotheaded turtle and flung a chunk of strawberry at the back of his head when he turned away. All in all, cleaning turned out to be... _fun_! Who knew cleaning with her boyfriend could turn into flirtatious banter, bubble suds fights, and running around squirting each other with the water sprayer sink attachment? Even doing something as mundane as chores was something exciting when they could do them while being alone and together. By the time everything was clean, both were still a bit damp from dank dish water as they went on to clean up the final room - the dojo.

It had barely been a half hour into it when an innocent brush of his large, rough hand along her back had something powerful igniting inside of her. She turned to him and seen him smiling; the real deal and not just a smirk, but a soft rising of the corners of his mouth and that damn little dimple that made her heart hurt at how fuckin' cute it was...oh, and don't get her started on that pouty lower lip of his...one she suddenly had a desperate desire to kiss and playfully nip it between her teeth, suckling it into her mouth... The redhead subconsciously bit her lip and valiantly held back a moan as her mind wandered, reaching out to touch his hand; she removed the broom he offered and began to sweep the dust off the floor.

With a lingering look, Raphael went back at the bench to continue sharpening the weapons. Green and blue met a few times over the next few moments and Raphael was getting consonantly distracted by how April's hands glided along the thick long wooden handle of the broom as she swept; her hips swaying this way and that as she moved around the room - almost as if she was doing it on purpose... Quickly pulling his face back to his work, the hotheaded terrapin finished sharpening Leo's swords and moved onto his sais; hoping tending to his signature weapon would get his mind off of how much he wanted April right now...

Said redhead watched the terrapin at the corner of her eye as the dust and dirt was collected into a pile. The way those glorious arms worked had her subconsciously squeezing her thighs together and nipples hardened against her yellow shirt. The sparks alighting from the stone wheel not bothering him in the least, such precision and skill behind his work was astounding and to see someone so usually hotheaded and brash be so methodical got her hotter than it should have. Once the dust was scooped up and thrown into a nearby bin, April began wiping down the workstation next to him, her eyes never straying too far away from those muscles expanding and stretching underneath emerald green skin. The sparks ceased with a click of a button underneath the stone wheel. He'd began wiping down the weapons and testing them with his fingers.

Without realizing it, she'd walked over to him, hands immediately grasping his shoulders. "They sharp enough?" April asked lowly, breath skirting over the back of his neck.

"Not yet." he chuckled, grabbing a hand held sharpener and gliding his sai expertly along the near blackened stone. He was losing himself in his work when it started with a brush of her finger along the crack in his carapace; moving to the incredibly sensitive area where skin met shell. Her warm breath trailing sensually over the back of his neck, tickling the tails of his tattered red mask as her hands and fingernails scraped over skin. It came to a head when her mouth left a ghost of a kiss on the nape and her other hand began tenderly stroking his neck, causing a low churr to leave his throat and his work was forgotten. His hands stopped moving, the weapon and the file were placed upon the table; heavily-lidded chartreuse eyes glanced up at her where she'd leaned heavily on him, head right next to his own. He took a deep breath, the scent of her arousal had him nearly keel over and him to completely give in to his own. Without another word shared between them, he'd pulled her down to sit on his lap. April squealed for only a moment before her sound was muffled by his mouth; wide lips devoured hers, wet tongue delving into her parted pink lips; exploring the hot cavern and she just moaned at the sudden intrusion.

All too soon, hands were everywhere at once, over soft curves and breasts and along armored plating and smooth scaly shoulders. April grinded along his plastron, trying to find friction over her clit; the hem of her shorts rubbing his hard chest plates finally giving her some iota of relief. Their mouths still had yet to part as Raphael began pulling at her shirt, only lifting it over her breasts; his mouth instantly began suckling at the slightly sweaty twin mounds. She moaned into his skin, his domed skull cradled in her hands as he tasted her soft, salty flesh and nipping gingerly at her pebbled nipples. April shrilled at the attention, grinding frantically against him; wanting this to go so much faster. Somewhere in the back of her sex-fueled subconscious, she knew they shouldn't be doing this and questioning as to why she wanted to seduce him here, but she just wanted him _so_ bad...and had all week, being alone with him tonight just pushed it over the edge...

Raph growled into her sternum before standing to his feet and looking up at her. She breathed heavily on his lips and logically, he knew this wasn't a good idea to do this here, but he couldn't find anything inside of him that cared. His hands moved to her waist, calloused hands admiring her taut stomach and hips that just fit so perfectly in his hands. Large fingers struggled with the small buttons for only a moment before the fly of her shorts was undone to reveal the hem of her grayish green leggings. Green eyes met hers again before leaving her form to look around for a moment; his eyes focusing on the chair he just vacated and a smirk rose to his lips.

Within seconds, April's back was flush in front of him; three-fingered hands sensually dipping into her leggings and panties. Index finger parted her labia and found she was soaking wet; he chuckled into her ear and April just moaned breathlessly in response. His digits immediately cupped her shaved mound, caressing the silky soft skin and lubricated pussy lips, flicking her clit back and forth just to hear her shrill in delight; descended penis poking her thigh as he did so. Raphael removed his hand for only a moment to pull down her shorts, underwear and panties, the articles tangling in her boots before coming to rest in a puddle by her feet. As he stood back up, he couldn't help himself further; her little ponytail flicking about, he pulled out the rubber band, allowing the strands to pool along her nape and face.

"Bend over..." he growled into her ear and she immediately obeyed, her hands resting upon the seat he just vacated. Smirking, he grasped her freckled ass and squeezed those firm, freckled cheeks; April smiling at the attention before jostling her ass around slightly in a silent gesture to portray exactly what she wanted now. Raphael allowed a raspy chuckle to escape at her; loving how she was just as desperate as he was. Wasting no more time, he moved his attention back to between her legs, grabbing the tip of his penis and guiding it into her body and entering her in one smooth thrust of his hips.

"Oh, God! You feel so _good_..." April groaned as she stretched around him, the rapture of that glorious, rock-hard penis buried so deep inside nearly made her come almost instantaneously. For more than a month now she'd been _aching_ for him and to finally have his dick inside of her was almost too much for the redhead. Her vagina squeezed him tightly to be sure and enjoy _every_ single inch of him; her cavern aching to be filled was finally gratified.

Raphael's body trembled the instant he was buried into that slick, hot sheath, his body begging for release the second he was inside of her; it just felt _that_ good. Mating season was hell without having full-access to his girlfriend whenever the urge hit and having to see her and not touch her was basically torture. Now as soon as he was having sex with the pretty redhead for the first time in more than a month, his body already wanted release, but sheer determination and stamina _refused_. If this may be the one and only time for awhile, he sure as hell was going to make the most of it. Ignoring the aching in his internal testicles to release, he strove on. His thrusts slow and shallow and first built up to a crescendo of his hips slapping rhythmically against her ass; the wet squelching of their bodies meeting over and over the only sound in the quiet dojo.

April was certain her hands had splinters from the chair and her ass was bruised with all of his rough pounding but she couldn't give a flying fuck as he rapidly thrust into her with everything he had. Those gorgeous muscles honed and trained from a lifetime of ninjitsu were now being used to satisfy her most animalistic urges and his own as well. All came to a completion when his hand suddenly appeared underneath her, fingers jostling her clit furiously as he sped up even faster. Seconds later, she was screaming his name as an intense orgasm ricocheted through her body, causing her legs to buckle underneath her. That didn't deter Raphael as he caught her, continually fucking her as he laid her on her stomach on the floor.

With the steady floor underneath her, April grasped fruitlessly at the soft tatami mat as Raph kept thrusting even in the midst of her all-encompassing orgasm. It was almost torturous ecstasy as he kept playing with her overly sensitive clit while continuing to fuck her. Her body was still shaking with the incredible orgasm when a moment later, he finally allowed himself to topple over the edge of ecstacy. A loud churr resonating throughout the echoing chambers, he came inside of her; his semen didn't seem to end as he emptied himself deep inside her womb. April gasped at the sheer amount that filled her, the heat and warmth filling her body was unlike anything she'd felt before.

Little did she know this was only round one.

A few seconds passed before he exited her body with a wet popping noise; blue eyes watched in a daze as he unceremoniously flipped her onto her back and began removing her remaining articles of clothing from the lower half of her body and tossing them aside. Her legs were wide open at this point yet didn't couldn't find it in her to act modest; who the hell was she kidding at this point? It was a bit embarrassing when a bit of his semen began leaking from her gaped vagina but she completely forgot about it when he began to crawl over top of her. April smiled at him and couldn't help the loud gasp that escaped when he entered her again without preamble, still completely rock-hard.

"Ooh...is that what you meant?" She groaned into his earhole, opening her legs wider for better access and resting her feet upon his carapace when he began moving inside of her.

"You feel so fuckin' good..." her boyfriend just growled in reply to her question and April just shrugged it off, arms strewn about his shoulders and his head resting in the dip of her own, he completely ravaged her.

Hips swiftly meeting her ass over and over and with his plastron plates brushing over her clit, she came at least six times over the next ten minutes before he came once more. The redhead's body was akin to jelly as he continued pillaging her without any hint of even slowing down; April fully allowing him to take over; positioning her any way he wanted when the urge to take her in a different position hit him and he eagerly agreed. Sometimes on her knees, side, but mainly on her back.

It didn't matter; the insatiable redhead was completely game for anything her boyfriend had in mind at this point; the feeling of helplessly being ravaged by the handsome mutant and his raw sexuality left her literally begging for more. Screaming " _harder_ ", " _faster_ ", " _keep going_ ", and " _Oh, GOD! Right_ _ **THERE**_ _!_ "; pretty muchanything that would keep his dick inside of her. He was rough in his thrusts and grabbing greedily at her breasts and pulling her hair and it was just driving her crazy in the best way possible. The fourth session came to a close when she ended up on her back at the base of the tree, groaning in pleasure at how he moaned so sensually by her ear, feeling him pulsating inside of her before the warmth of his semen filled her for the fourth time.

Raphael laid atop of her without putting any serious amount of weight for only a moment and instead of him softening and exiting like usual, he was still stiff inside of her. Without skipping a beat, Raphael lifted himself off of the lovely redhead and looked down at her. As much as he wanted a fifth round, he wanted to make sure it was okay with her first; it was confirmed when April just gave him a sexy smirk and pulled on his mask tails in order to crush his mouth to hers.

Raph groaned into her lips, feeling her vagina pulsating and squeezing around his member and with a few shallow thrusts, he was plunging freely again, her moans being drowned out by his own mouth. His mind was completely on her now; desperately making sure not to give completely into his animalistic " _mating season"_ urges in fear of hurting her or giving her more than she could handle. But what surprised him the most was how she was allowing him to keep going for so long and if anything, she only seemed to want more by how wet she still was around him, her vagina pulsating and pulling him in deeper.

The terrapin wasn't sure exactly how long they went after that; fucking on nearly every surface of the dojo when they finally collapsed near where they began. Too tired to be on her sore hands and knees at this point, April lay on her mat-burned back and he was on top, her legs resting on his shoulders as another orgasm washed over him, finishing inside of her as deep as he possibly could go. As soon as it passed, April was just surprised as Raphael when his penis finally retracted back into his shell.

Raph tumbled breathlessly to the floor next to her, not trusting himself to hold up his weight off of her anymore. His chest was heaving and he was certain he'd lost at least a liter of liquid and was on the border of dehydration. He couldn't recall the last time he'd been so exhausted yet so energized all at once; he was certain he could take down the Shredder and his entire army...if only he could get up... He chuckled lightly to himself, because he couldn't even remember how many times he came inside of her; losing track after five.

April wasn't faring must better for the terrapin swore he heard her heart nearly pounding out of her chest and trying desperately to catch her breath. She'd been screaming her lungs out nearly the whole way through and Raph would swear she'd lost her voice halfway through their lovemaking marathon because everything after that was just guttural moans. It didn't matter because she was way into it; encouraging him to go faster, harder, and change up positions til they basically ended up in the same one every time.

"Wow..." April murmured in a small raspy voice breaking him out of his thoughts. Rolling over seemed to be even a Herculean feat as her mutant boyfriend had to help her the rest of the way where she came to rest curled beside him.

Raph just grunted something incoherent but agreeable in response, his nose rustling into her sweat soaked hair and nudging her playfully. April lightly tapped him on his chest, further rolling into him and just relaxing in the momentous pleasure of their well-earned afterglow...for a grand total of three minutes...

Once the daze of incredible, passionate, rough sex passed, the couple were left completely blindsided at to just what they had done. The two set of eyes napped open and met almost immediately; blue and green hilariously wide as they stared at each others naked bodies and to the mess they just made...on the floor of the dojo...

April screamed in quick realization, grabbing frantically at her clothes to put them back on properly and Raphael quickly shot to his feet in an utter sense of panic.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy **SHIT**! What are we gonna **do** , April!? We just _fucked..._ on the dojo **floor**!" he screamed as if it was any less obvious.

"Well, no _shit_ , Einstein!" April grumbled, her shirt finally back in it's place even if it was more than a bit wrinkled and sweaty at this point.

"W-Why didn't you stop me!?" the hotheaded terrpain screamed in near hysterics, looking in horror upon the mess the two just made of the once spotless floor, the air completely saturated with the heady scent of sex and sweat.

"Don't you _dare_ blame this on me, Raph! It takes two to tango, sweetheart." April grumbled as she stood to her feet. The mess between her legs was too uncomfortable even bother to put back on her leggings, shorts, or underwear, opting to stand half-naked; which was proving to be very distracting for the turtle. Pulling his green eyes away from the gorgeous sight to keep his penis from controlling his logical mind, he resumed pacing; wondering what the _fuck_ they were going to do.

"Raph...Raph? _Raph_. **RAPH**!" Apil screamed, finally breaking him from whatever hell he'd been thinking about as he paced furiously back and forth for at least two full minutes before she had enough.

" **What**?!" he yelped in reply.

"What have we been doing **all** night?" April asked, her hands firmly planted on her hips; but considering she was now naked from the waist down, it didn't look as disciplinary as it usually did.

"...Humping each other's brains out?"

"Ugh!" April groaned, rolling her eyes at his audacity before answering her own question, " _No_ , Raph. **Cleaning!** We'll just clean it up and they'll be none the wiser."

"April, need I remind you that our senses are better than yours? I doubt the smell alone is going to dissipate within the next month if were lucky."

"Then we'll just have to cover it up; now, come on! As much as I love cleaning naked, we need to shower first." she said, not even waiting for him to answer as she headed back out toward the bathrooms; her tight freckled ass sashaying out of the room had him following after her regardless if he even heard her plan or not.

* * *

An hour later, it was clean. The smell from the dojo and lair were finally wiped away with nearly two bottles of Febreeze and most of the family-size bottle of Pine-Sol that saturated the freshly-moped floor. The scent of the heavily-scented chemical cleaners was excruciating to Raphael's incredibly sensitive nose but it was still helluva lot better for his brothers and father to smell nothing but cleaning products for a month than what him and April just did in the dojo.

Finally placing the last item back under the sink, Raphael collapsed upon one of the kitchen stools to allow his heart to get back to its normal rhythm. April approached his side, her hair slightly damp from their quick impromptu shower and sat next to him, spinning in the chair giddily. He smirked at her and she just smiled back, doing two more full spins before Raphael's hands stopped the chair's motions. He had leaned in close, his nose bopping into her own. Without a word shared between the couple, they kissed; April's lithe arms encircling her boyfriend's shoulders as she melted into the warm and powerful body. The endorphins from their lovemaking still running rampant through her system and she was sorely tempted for a repeat performance from earlier...maybe in the shower for easier cleanup...

"EWWW! _Seriously,_ dudes!? I **EAT** there!" the horrified shrill of Michelangelo burst through the expanse of the lair and the two flew back from each other only to see his three brothers staring at them from the kitchen door. "Come on, Ice Cream Kitty. You shouldn't have to see this nastiness." the youngest continued, strutting to the fridge to grab his dairy friend from the freezer along with a box of popsicles. The cat proceeded to hiss at the hotheaded terrapin as it and the orange-banded turtle exited the room.

Donnie looked a bit put off and awkward at the scene but didn't say a word. Opting to just give them both a friendly greeting before rummaging through he cabinets for his favorite Pop-tarts April brought him and a cup of instant coffee before heading to the lab.

"Please use some self-control when they're around, Raph." Leo muttered once the two younger brothers were gone, walking passed the couple to the pantry where he began brewing him some tea. As soon as the leader's back was turned, Raphael whispered a rude obscenity about him into her ear and April had to muffle a giggle in her palm.

"I heard that, Raphael..." Splinter muttered, walking into the kitchen out of seemingly nowhere, making the red-banded terrapin nearly fall out of his seat. After being caught rudely mocking his brother, Raphael grew quiet as his older brother and father went about making their little platter for a tea/meditation ceremony.

 _Such a daddy's boy..._ Raph grumbled internally but all bitter thoughts faded when April reached over to grasp his hand. Green eyes met her sky blue and he smiled; gripping her hand back as they waited patiently for the duo to leave the kitchen. Once the curtain swayed back into place after their departure, Raphael quickly went back to how they were before they were rudely interrupted.

"Thanks for all your help." Raph whispered against her lips and April heard the underlying meaning in his deep, raspy voice. The innuendo wasn't lost on her and her cheeks flushed, grasping firmly at his hands. His eyes flicked down to her mouth and April was more than happy to oblige; the instant before her mouth touched his, a bellowing interrupted them.

"RAPHAEL! HOW MUCH PINE-SOL DID YOU USE!?" Splinter's voice carried throughout the lair and Raphael's head burrowed into his shell much to April's amusement.

"Told you to not use so much." April giggled, bopping him on the top of his head that was still sticking out of his shell.

"Shut up..."


	30. Soulmates (NSFW)

**Afterglow - Chapter 30**

 **Rated: M**

 **Soulmates**

 _Chapter Summary: As Raphael sleeps, April recalls the little moments that drew her to the hot-headed terrapin in the first place...also, some sexy times in Raph_ _'s bedroom occur..._

* * *

 **First off, I want to apologize for taking so long to update this and to thank you for being SO patient with me. Be assured I have not given up on this story, I** **'ve just been preoccupied with other stories and struggling a bit with an idea to do for the 30** **th** **chapter. I decided to just wing it and see what happens. It ended up to be nearly 5,000 words and included some smut so it's not like I didn't try haha.**

 **Hope you enjoy. :-) xoxo**

 **Also, fun fact about the band "Charred Walls" in the story, there are two screenshots where the band name is on the bass drum of Raphael's drum set and the same name is in April's locker when she opens it. I didn't just make it up. ;-) If you want proof, check out this same fict on A03, I'll be posting the pictures there (it's canon enough for me).**

 **Also, a HUGE thank you to 15LMDR, whose tumblr post gave me the inspiration and pointed out the Charred Walls thing! It inspired a great deal of this chapter! So, thanks, hon! :-D**

* * *

Deep breaths in and out; fingers absentmindedly caressing languid strokes upon a hard armored surface. They were the only sounds punctuating the quiet of the room. A comfortable atmosphere and silence she did not get to experience as often as she would prefer.

April listened to his languid breathing and the lull of Raphael's strong, steady heartbeat under her ear; for some odd reason, she found herself unable to sleep. Considering their earlier romp in the dojo, not to mention cleaning the whole damn lair, it was quite strange when when she didn't immediately fall asleep when her head hit the pillow (or his bicep or chest she found herself using as one most of the time).

Struggling to relax, she finally gave up and opened her eyes and took in his familiar bedroom as her boyfriend remained in blissful slumber. The bluish light igniting from an antique radio allowing her to see in the normally pitch black room. Head still firmly resting upon his chest, she glanced at the decor of his room she knew quite well.

With nothing better to do than admire the many posters adorning his walls with familiar bands and a couple piece of incredible art her boyfriend had done. Eyes trailing lower, she sighed upon seeing Spike's empty tank and pondering why Raphael still kept it but she'd never ask him such a delicate question. Not wanting to dwell on that any longer, her blue eyes landed upon his drum-set. One she'd never actually seen him play; The "Charred Walls" name embedded in the bass drum.

A smile formed on her lips as she recalled the exact logo etched into her high school locker. It was one of the first things that opened a conversation between Raphael and herself in the first place. Those first few months after they'd met; a time in which he was rather distrustful of her but was slowly opening up. A time in which she'd accepted and flirted with her attraction for the green-eyed terrapin that began to develop over time. When he was still oh, so quiet around her - the conversation was one she remembered so well.

* * *

 _April O'Neil just arrived through the turnstiles and it was quite an odd sight to see only Raphael around; as soon as she saw him, she was rather tempted just to go head to Donnie's lab instead of getting the cold shoulder the red-banded terrapin was famous for._

 _April wasn't exactly pleased with how standoffish this brother was. He seemed so incredibly mysterious and interesting (not to mention damn attractive) but he never let her in and any words exchanged or time spent one-on-one was nearly non-existent. Not to say the redhead didn't try but more often than not, he just left the room before she could speak. April_ _ **wanted**_ _to get to know him better but it was hard when Raphael avoided her like the plague. She was full on ready just to pass him by when a familiar name and logo caught her eye._

" _Is that Charred Walls?" April asked more excited than she cared to admit upon seeing the magazine Raphael held in his hands._

 _Raphael reluctantly peeked out from behind the magazine. Green eyes glancing at the girl in obvious confusion before his eyes landed on the cover and without verbally answering, he just nodded and shrugged before burying his face behind the magazine yet again._

 _Not wanting to be deterred this time, April continued, "I never knew you liked them! I never actually met another person who appreciated the fine quality of the vulgar curses they're able to rhythm with. Heh, come to think of it, I don't think I ever even met anyone who's even_ _ **heard**_ _of them. As awesome as they are, they're pretty vague." April said with a laugh, bravely plopping next to the nervous terrapin on the couch._

 _Raphael was nervously glancing at her from the corner of his eye before his green eyes gravitated back to the pages. April was staring at his profile, admiring his sharp features and sneaking a glance at the magazine. It was the reason she approached him at all in the first place._

" _Yep..." he muttered dully and it was obvious he was as welcoming as a pms-ing porcupine right now but that only made April more determined to get to know him a bit more._

" _What's your favorite song of theirs?" she asked, digging into her book-bag and pulling out her laptop. April didn't want to make him uncomfortable, but desperate times call for desperate measures. After a moment, he still hadn't responded and April's slight smile fell and she was prepared for him to close his magazine and bolt from the room but it was a complete shock when he finally answered her._

" _Fade to Black." he replied, the sound of him turning a page a welcome noise in the deafening silence; if he was turning pages and still reading, it may mean he wouldn't leave her high and dry after all._

 _It was at this moment she realized perhaps her and the red-banded turtle weren't so opposite after all. "...Fade to Black?" she asked._

" _Yeah. Why?" he asked, his brow ridges heavily furrowed as he genuinely looked at her for the first time since she arrived._

" _Heh. It's just - that's mine too." she replied with a shrug._

 _Raphael couldn't hide the shock that alight his green eyes upon her answer. "...Really?"_

 _Did he seem...excited?_

" _Yeah." she replied with a smile, showing him her song list on her laptop and the only song on it was indeed, 'Fade to Black'._

" _Holy_ _ **shit**_ _, ya weren't kiddin'." Raphael muttered and she couldn't help but giggle at the use of profanity; it appeared he was the only one of his brothers that did so. Mikey was too innocent, Donnie too squeaky clean and awkward and Leo too anal-retentive to let a curse fall from his lips. She appreciated Raph's honesty and his rawness; it was a refreshing change._

 _Raphael's green eyes rose to hers for only a second and April's heart definitely didn't skip upon seeing the ghost of a rugged smile raising the corners of his lips._

" _Heh. Pop Quiz, in their 1987 classic song, 'Angel of Death', who was Ragin' Rob referrin' to in the second verse?" Raph asked, putting the magazine aside as if it would give her a hint, and looking at her expectantly. April was more than happy to play along with the 'Charred Walls' trivia._

" _His step-mother."_

" _Heh. You're right. Pretty good, O'Neil. Most people think it was his ex-wife or somethin'. That musta been one strange relationship." Raph chuckled and April couldn't help but smile when he referred to her by her last name._

 _Little did she knew it would be one of the most endearing things she'd grow to love about him..._

" _Cool. Now, let's see if you can take it - which song did they label their all-time greatest masterpiece but no one really seemed to like it?"_

" _Soulmate." he replied with ease and April was a bit taken aback for how the word sounded coming out of his mouth._

 _She didn't even realize when her laptop was by her side and they were sitting closer than they'd ever been in proximate to one another before. This was before he'd even saved her from the Kraang base - a time in which she never fully understood just how much he'd mean to her one day._

" _You're right." she laughed and the sound seemed to break whatever spell fallen over him. "Oh, I think you'd like this - check it out!" she continued, reaching for her laptop and placing a part of it onto his thigh. She felt how he flinched at her touch but he recovered quickly, gently grasping onto the other side to keep it level._

" _What is it?" he asked as she opened her internet page and began searching for the right video._

" _You'll see." she responded, opening up YouTube and pulling up one of their old concert videos she had discovered. Stealing a glance at him, he seemed a bit apprehensive and pulled away slightly from sitting too close to her. Not allowing his actions to bother her, she scooted even closer to him and she felt the nerves coming off of the turtle in waves; yet she ignored it. "Here it is. Check this out!" she announced, hoping the change in conversation would calm him slightly._

 _Raph stole a glance of her from the corner of his eye before he scooted a little closer to her and looked down at the laptop. April wasn't sure how to react to his close proximity but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy it. She noticed how clean he smelt, always picturing him to smell like sweat since he worked out so much, but he didn't. He smelt like a fresh stream filled with clean water; it was unbelievably pleasant..._

" _Aw, hell, is this an actual concert?" Raphael mused, breaking April from her thoughts._

" _Yep. Sure is." she replied, smiling at his voice and the how he was obviously trying to cover-up just how excited he was. She half-listened and watched the video she made full screen but her eyes kept gravitating toward Raphael's face and how bright his eyes were. She'd never seen him this way and it surprised her at how open he was being with her at this moment...she didn't want it to end..._

 _April was about to speak again to keep this rare conversation going when an all too-familiar voice had her flinch._

" _April!" Donnie announced himself walking into the lair. Within milliseconds, Raphael had grabbed his discarded magazine and buried his face behind it like nothing at all had happened. While slightly disappointed, she had no time to think about it when Donnie continued, "I'm so glad you're here, I think I may have found a way to manipulate some of those samples I was showing you yesterday!"_

" _That's great, Don. I'm coming." she said, immediately smiling at the obviously excited turtle, ignoring the slight disappointment of losing out on spending time with a fellow "Charred Walls" fan, and closed her laptop with a soft click before rising to her feet._

 _Donnie didn't wait up for her, heading to his lab with a spring in his step._

 _Taking a moment, she looked back at Raph and was shocked to see him looking at her. She was about to speak but the hot-headed terrapin beat her to the punch._

" _Mind if we finish that video some other time?" he asked._

" _Yeah, of course." April replied with a big smile and she didn't know why but her heart fluttered when a half-smile appeared on his face before he turned back to his magazine._

 _April stood there for a long minute pretending to put the rest of her items away yet she could barely contain her giddiness at what she saw- he smiled - at her! The accomplishment probably wasn't much but it felt monumental to the redhead. Perhaps Raphael wouldn't be such an enigma to her now..._

" _C'mon, April! You need to see this!" Donnie broke her out of her thoughts as he suddenly reappeared and drug her to the lab._

* * *

April languidly traced the many marks on his plastron, fingernails scraping as the memory played out in her mind. She recalled them finally watching it together; well, Mikey was there sitting between them, but they saw it anyway. It wasn't much but it was one of the first moments he smiled at her; breaking that shell to see a bit of who he was underneath. Simply amazed at how life worked; how a conversation over a band of all things perhaps having a butterfly effect and leading them to this miraculous point in time.

Falling in love and being together nearly two years...it was quite incredible...

April's eyes lifted and took in his face slack in sleep and him being just so fuckin' adorable it made her heart ache...she just loved him so much... She didn't plan it, didn't think it through, just moved; raising her head, she began kissing his face and neck. Ghostly soft at first than firm, almost nipping at his warm smooth scales. While she was still a bit sore, another part of her was _desperately_ craving him again... Thinking back on some of their life together and how she wouldn't change a thing for the world - it made her a little emotional - and the odd combination of horny, which she didn't mind. Not being able to help herself, she continued kissing him and the warmth began pooling between her legs, _body and soul wanting him so **bad**_...

Raphael awoke with a light groan, still half asleep when he realized what April was doing; her hands getting dangerously close to his groin.

"Whataya doin'?" he mumbled sleepily, one hand rising to his face to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

Suddenly, she grabbed at his lower plastron plates, scraping her fingernail on the maneuverable plates covering the area where his penis descended from. He yelled lightly before muffling the sound into his palm.

"That answer your question?" she growled into his neck, which she began nipping lightly with her teeth.

"Ooh... Heh. What's the occasion, O'Neil?" Raph chuckled as he began waking up more fully; hands now busying themselves with her still covered breasts.

"Why does there need to be an occasion?" April mumbled back, her lips brushing along the side of his head and her fingers tangling in the tails of his worn red mask. "Can't a girl just wanna have sex with her handsome boyfriend?"

"Hhn... Ya know normally I'd be more than happy to oblige with that request, but aren'tcha sore?" Raph asked, his hands reluctantly leaving her chest to rest along her back; leaning up to kiss the tip of her nose.

"Just a little, but I'll be fine...Now, come on, Raph..." April mumbled, her arms tightening around his neck as she brushed her mouth over his.

"We can't do it here. Dad's already suspicious."

"So?" she chirped, hands skirting over his nape.

Raph lifted his brow ridges as he peered up at her quizzically. "Yer kidding, right?"

" _I'll be quiet..._ " April whispered raspily, her hands cupping the back of his skull as she leaned down until her lips could press over his.

"C'mon, April... Don't make this harder then it has to be..."

"Ooh, you're already hard for me?" April cooed, one of her hands trailing down his plastron.

"Oh, gawd!" Raph choked as her fingers danced around his lower plastron scutes. "Please, April, ya _know_ we can't..." he continued, reluctantly tugging her hand away from his groin.

"I said, I'll be quiet." she whined.

"Hate to tell ya, but yer anything but quiet, sweetheart." Raph chuckled against her neck, his snout burrowing into her loose ponytail

"Like your groaning and pounding me into the mattress is any less obnoxious?" April sneered, her face pulling away from his to look him in the eyes.

"Did you forget? I'm a ninja. I could turn that that noise off anytime I want. You know I display that mostly for you babe, cause last time I checked, ya loved that noise." Raphael smirked.

April downright snorted at that statement.

"Hey, you're the screamer in this relationship, sweetheart. I recall your dad having to reassure the neighbors that you were very much alive and hadn't been screaming as you were being murdered a couple weeks ago." Raph chuckled, his face brushing against hers.

"Oh God, you would bring that up..." April muttered, her face bright red as she recalled that particular morbid conversation with her own father. She was still having issues looking him in the eye.

"I'm just sayin'."

April grew quiet and contemplative after that; acknowledging perhaps it wasn't such a good idea. Growing to accept that fact and ignore her hormones, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, just enjoying the novel feel of Raph's scales rubbing against her smooth skin instead. His body firm and cool pressed under hers in his dimly lit bedroom she thought the conversation was over and decided to see if she would relax enough for sleep; what she didn't expect was when his lips began ghosting over the skin of her neck.

"I thought you didn't want to do this..." April muttered, one of her hands cupping his face.

Raph's head rose and he looked at her, his reptilian eyes glowing in the dark room. His lips were pursed and brows furrowed and he appeared to internally debating his next words.

Raph sighed before finally speaking, "Tell ya what - we'll think of this as a training exercise. Our goal: have mind-blowing sex without making a peep."

"Not even a _peep_? You're insane." April muttered, knowing that was impossible and the sounds she usually made were uncontrollable at times. "How about this - just turn on your radio."

"Won't that be a bit obvious?"

"Hey, it's better they hear music than the sounds were gonna be making..." April whispered suggestively, her hand making its way back toward his groin, her short nails scraping along his plastron.

"True." Raph said, reaching for the remote on his nightstand and turning on the music, the soft lull of the radio announcer's voice coming through the speakers.

"How about you put on Charred Walls?" she asked.

Raph looked up at her and smiled; it appeared to be a pleasant memory for both of them.

"Sure. What song would ya like?" Raph asked, shrugging a bit of soreness lingering in his shoulders, the curve of hardened muscles of his deltoids easily catching her eye in the dim light.

"How about Soulmate? It has a nice beat you can fuck me with. That oughta muffle at least _some_ of your pounding." April giggled, her fingers rubbing along the retractable scutes between his legs that began to open up with her ministrations.

He smirked, leaning up to kiss her soundly before he played his 'Charred Walls' CD and the song they spoke about what may as well have been a lifetime ago. Once the familiar tune began playing, April wasted no time in drawing out this foreplay any longer.

"So... is little Raphie ready to come out and play?" April muttered, her hands leaving his groin to grasp at his mask tails and trying to maneuver him to roll on top of her which he was more than willing to comply with. "Now, c'mere, ya big lug... I think we wasted enough time talking..." she whispered before pressing her lips insistently over his.

Putting most of his weight on his elbows, he cradled her head in his large hands and proceeded to kiss her breathless. He rubbed his groin against hers, feeling the incredible dampness of her thin cotton underwear against his lower scutes. He swallowed down the soft moan she made when he gyrated his pubis against her clit.

"Shh..." he breathed against her lips as his hands made quick work of her tank top - throwing the thin article to his messy floor. Wasting no time, he grabbed her warm soft breasts in his hands, pinching her nipples til they hardened into stiff peaks.

Taking his hint, April pulled her arms away from his shoulders to quickly shimmy out of her panties, lying back as he quickly adjusted himself on top of her.

April held back a giggle as he handed her a pillow before making himself comfortable between her legs. Teeth instantly bit into the cloth the second his lips pressed over her pussy. This tongue and fingers swiftly getting her off, thrusting a couple fingers deep inside of her to loosen and his tonguefurther lubed her up. Giving his girlfriend a quick glance and smirk, he began suckling on her clit, tongue furiously flicking it back and forth; in seconds, April's muffled groans of pleasure were lost into the thick pillow.

As soon as her orgasm passed, Raphael crawled atop of her again, her legs wrapping eagerly around his waist. All it took was a push, a sigh, and a second later, he was up to the hilt inside of her. Raph bit his tongue, fighting against the churr that immediately wanted to flee his throat upon feeling her slick cavern pulsating around his thick penis.

"Mmm..." April whimpered, the barely audible noise sounding like a foghorn to his ears. Raph searched for the pillow that was doing an awesome job at muffling the sounds, but he found the pillow forgotten on the floor.

"Shh..." he breathed against her hair, the sound muffled easily into her locks of red hair strewn messily over the sheets from her loose ponytail.

Digging her short nails into his shoulder, signaling him to continue before she really hurt him.

Raph smirked feeling her inaudible orders, the pinprick of barely noticeably pain echoing on his thickly scaled shoulders. Still obeying the hint, he began to move, shallowly thrusting in and out of her moist entrance.

April closed her eyes tightly, refusing to allow the insistent moan to leave her throat - throwing her head back as her top teeth embedded themselves into her lower lip.

Thrusting a little faster, he slowed upon hearing the wet squelching noises he was making upon speeding up. Growing frustrated with this new development, he reached over to his stand to grab his remote and turn up the music.

Once he was certain the sound would hopefully drown out his and April's activities, he began to piston faster into her welcoming body. April let out a soft sigh as he continued pillaging into her warmth. It didn't last long, the sound of the bed squeaking and the headboard tapping the wall had him stopping. Figuring out a plan, Raphael didn't exit her, just climbed off the bed until his feet were on the floor; adjusting her rear to align with the edge of the bed, he continued moving. The absence of his weight had depleted the squeaks of the springs and he was free to start plowing freely. One hand cradling her hip and the other under her body, he pillaged her, leaning down to kiss and suckle both of her breasts before pressing his face into her sternum where he erotically licked the skin there.

While he wanted this to last, he knew making this a quickie was his best option. Maybe him and April could even sneak out and take a shower afterward in order to avoid an awkward conversation over breakfast. He quickly hiked her thighs higher on his hips and used one hand to brush insistently against her swollen clit hoping to bring her to a quick orgasm.

April tensed, the squeak from his actions dying in her throat as she swallowed it down. As this thumb continued to circle against the swollen nub, she was finding it nearly impossible to not vocalize the immense pleasure he was giving her. She bit her tongue as her hands held on to the curve of his carapace when he began to speed up, the soft slap of his thighs hitting her ass blended nicely with the beat of the song playing.

Raphael felt her wet sheath tightening around his penis and the swelling of her clit letting him know she was extremely close to orgasm. Quickly deciding it would best if they finished at the same time, his thumb slowed, barely caressing her hooded nub as he furiously thrust into her body until he was ready to reach final completion. He felt a tightening in his abdomen and a slow burning across the base of his penis. Knowing he was close and April was at the cusp, a game plan was quickly made. He looked down at her flushed face, the overwhelming feeling of affection toward his girl nearly made him forget to keep his voice down down. As his hips continued their rhythmic motion, he adjusted slightly, further spreading his stance and laying heavier on top of her until their chests were flush against each other, his lower plastron brushing against her clit with every thrust.

Without warning, his mouth devoured hers as his hips accelerated, his penis slamming into her fast and hard. April practically screamed into his mouth, the sound being muffled effectively with a long note from the singer. The rapid movements of his thrusting making her nearly lose control as her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she fiercely kissed him back.

With a couple more hard pounds into her tightening vagina, orgasm rushed over both of them at once. Raph swiftly fucked her hard once more, the tip brushing against her cervix as his seed erupted into her womb - feeling that last final penetration made his plastron rub perfectly against her throbbing, swollen clit and finally bringing her with him tumbling over the edge of ecstasy.

As their lips and tongue continued devouring each other, both sighed as the intense peak washed through them. Raphael moved back upon the bag as April's arms loosened and cradled the back of his head, her tongue running across the expanse of his wide mouth. Over time, their kisses ebbed to a stop and Raph rolled over, pulling her to lay on top of him.

"I love you..." she breathed quietly against his mouth, "so much..."

"Love ya too." Raph replied with a genuine smile before pulling her down for another passionate kiss. Languid brushes of mouths and tongues ebbed to a stop before they just rested for a moment. Bathing in the pleasure for only a second than without warning, he sat up with her still in his lap and grabbed a blanket; wrapping her in it before walking toward his bedroom door.

April was still getting down from her high, so the fact that he was moving didn't hit her until they were next to his door. Immediately, her eyes searched his out wondering just what the hell he was planning.

Raph must have sensed her immediate distress because he took a moment to look at her and smile before placing a thick finger over pursed lips. The universal signal to keep quiet as he walked out into the hall. Using all of his ninja senses, he figured out where all the occupants were; everyone asleep but Donnie who rarely left his lab before 4am. With assurance they were safe, he took off to the bathrooms to shower.

For once, the universe seemed to be on his side; they showered, cleaned, and were able to get rid of the obvious smell of sex from his room. The two were walking zombies by this point when they finally collapsed together on his bed, the looping song " _Soulmate_ " lulling them into blissful slumber.


	31. Plans

**Afterglow - Chapter 31**

 **Plans**

 **Rated: T**

 _Chapter Summary: April finishes up her last week of school and has a very big surprise for Raphael, but this time, he may just beat her to the punch._

* * *

 **Sorry there's a lot of random stuff going on in this chapter but it was necessary to where I wanted this to go. It'll be a lot smoother next chapter, I promise. :-D Also, I need to write more Kirby and Raph interactions because Raphael stuttering and awkward is perfect haha.**

* * *

"Goodbye, love..." April whispered into the still slumbering Raphael's ear before leaning down and brushing her lips over his temple. Hand trailing carefully across his broad shoulders and nape from where he slept on his stomach. "I'll see you later."

With those words, April readjusted her backpack over her shoulder and headed back to college; prepared and striving to finish this last week of the college semester strong.

Summer looming and drawing her into its sunny depths; warm rays welcoming as she pushed her way through the manhole cover and into the bustling New York streets. What normally would be a long, arduous walk to the campus was filled with excitement and trepidation; with college breaking for the semester, she reserved the right to enjoy it to its fullest extent.

The idea came to her just this past weekend; a brilliant plan that was conceived when she found herself recalling the beginning of her and Raphael's relationship. Bringing with it their moments in Northampton; the inkling and sporadic kiss that started it all. The idea of returning to where it all began was too perfect an opportunity to pass up. A smile itching her way up on her face as she concocted the best way to break the news to him of perhaps spending a week or two up there.

 _Just them._

A light chuckle left her lips as she approached her destination; thoughts of all the wonderful connotations that could arise from them finally getting away from it all. No school, no brothers, no fathers, no prying eyes or having to be silent...it was perfect.

Also, it would be the best early birthday present she could think to give to herself.

Finally arriving at class and sitting down for her first final just made her all the more determined to finish strong and damn well earn a few weeks alone with her boyfriend.

* * *

Raphael wasn't exactly sure what the hell he was doing as he went over to April's apartment when only her father was home. His girlfriend's twentieth birthday looming had him in an utter panic of what to do or get for her special day; causing him to do things he probably wouldn't. Her last birthday was a total disaster and not wanting to ponder that awful day for too long, he knocked. Desperation pulling in his gut, he waited for someone to answer...

Instead of outright asking April what she wanted, which probably would save him a lot of heartache, he went to her father.

It would be an understatement to say Kirby O'Neil was surprised when he opened the door to a trench coat wearing Raphael in late spring heat.

"Raphael?" Kirby asked curiously.

"Hey, Mr. O'Neil." the terrapin responded with a nervous wave and awkward smile.

"Um, hello. Um...April's not here, you know, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Eh, I kinda came over to see you." Raph replied, nervous bubbles popping in his belly. Raphael was well aware at how awkward this was for both of them; especially considering this man knew him and his daughter were having wild sex that the neighbors informed him about...Ever since that happened, Raphael was certain to make himself scarce but he knew he couldn't avoid the man forever - this was April's dad...

That connotation had his stomach rolling uncomfortably.

 _Aw damn, this was a bad idea..._ he muttered internally as Kirby still hadn't replied.

Raphael was sorely temped to high-tail it out of here to avoid any more embarrassment but his plans were thwarted by a reply.

"Oh, really? O-Of course, Raphael. Come on in." the redheaded man replied with a smile and a gesture of invitation the terrapin did not expect.

Pushing aside his doubts, he walked into the apartment while Kirby closed the door behind him.

"Want me to take your...wait...is that my jacket?" Kirby asked and Raphael's heart plummeted to his bowels.

 _God, this was a_ _ **really**_ _bad idea..._

"O-Oh, yeah! I meant to return it. I swear, I guess I just forgot!" Raph muttered with a shrug as he swiftly took off the khaki coat.

"No. It's fine." the man laughed reaching to retrieve it from the turtle's extended grasp. "I haven't worn it in _years_! I'm glad to see someone is finding some use for it so you're more than welcome to keep it."

"Heh. Thanks..." Raphael replied; smiling awkwardly as he watched Kirby hang it up. Smile faltering when the man was once again giving him his undivided attention.

"So, what did you need?" Kirby asked before walking further into the living room and sitting upon the couch, hand patting the seat next to him, inviting the turtle to do the same.

"Um...Eh...so...How are ya?" Raph asked.

 _Real smooth there, ya idiot._.. He disciplined himself internally.

"I'm doing well. Thank you." Kirby replied, thin brows lifted in slight confusion. "How about yourself?"

"Yeah, I'm good, I'm good...Eh, so um, how's work goin'?"

"Good." Kirby replied before giving him a very familiar and knowing look; one his girlfriend wore when she knew he was purposefully stalling. Guess the fruit doesn't fall too far from the tree.

"Alright, um. Well, ya know April's birthday is next week and I was just wondering if there was something she wanted. Or something I could do for her." Raph said, looking toward her father hopefully yet the man's expression didn't change or reply, "I-I wanted to make up for last year's fiasco by doing something real nice. Ya know? I had a couple ideas of my own but I doubt it'll be good enough. Also, you're her dad and I just kinda thought you'd perhaps know what she wants this year. She's probably more likely to drop hints to you than me, so...yeah..." Raphael continued with a helpless shrug hoping the man understood some iota of the gibberish that just fell from his nervous lips.

"Wow... Y-You really do care a lot for my daughter, don't you?" Kirby asked a long moment after Raphael had finished speaking.

"Of course I do." Raphael replied firmly, valiantly fighting against sounding offended. Wanting to defend his relationship with this man's daughter even if he knew Kirby had approved of it long ago. There were still his own doubts that plagued his mind about the validity of their relationship and desperately wanting approval. Something he still had yet to grasp himself.

"Hmm... Raphael, I gotta admit that at first, I was a bit shocked when you and April began dating..." upon seeing the surprise that came over Raphael's face, he continued, "Please understand this from my perspective, Raphael; you guys have caused a lot of heartache for us that most of probably wouldn't have happened had we never met."

Raphael fought against speaking out in his own defense (even if he knew the man was telling the truth); biting his tongue and appearing stone-faced as Kirby continued.

"Yet...it wasn't until you and April began dating where I saw a happiness in her that I hadn't seen in years - one I thought would never return after my wife disappeared."

"I..." Raph spoke about to fight back when the words finally sunk in. "...What?"

"I can't recall a time where I've seen my daughter more vibrant; so excited and just...happy. I suppose you have a lot to do with it." the man replied with a playful shrug, bumping the stoic turtle with a thin elbow. "You have no idea how much it means to see her like this again; it's quite amazing, Raphael."

"She changed a lot for me too, sir." Raphael admitted shyly, not believing he was telling this to her father. Face flushing involuntary at just how much his attitude and brash personality had been changed by the pretty redhead.

Kirby just nodded and smiled. "It shows great character to come to me about something so menial. For, you know, April will cherish _anything_ you give her."

"I know that, but... I want this to be special - it's her twentieth after all."

"Hmm. True... Hmm, well, her best birthday I recall was a surprise party back at Northampton; I tell you, the smile on that girl was one I _never_ seen on my daughter. It was an early morning and my wife made April's favorite chocolate chip pancakes and later on, went on a hike. Lying in the grass and staring up at the clouds...taking a swim in the lakes..." Kirby sighed, eyes straying toward the window where the midday sun was leaking in through it. "Other than my wedding and April's birth, that may have been one of the best days of my life..."

Hearing her father reminiscing wasn't exactly uncomfortable; he'd felt more at ease with the man than he thought he'd be but it still didn't make it easy to hear. Just brought back to the fact that April had a harder life than she let on; you'd never know it for the smile on her face rarely faltered .

If anyone deserved a good birthday, it was her.

"Then...you think I should take her there? With your permission of course." Raph muttered, bringing Kirby from his reverie.

"I think she'd like that." Kirby replied with a smile. "Hmm. In fact, I think she'd love it."

"So, that a yes?"

"Hmm. Of course, Raphael. You need to borrow my car?"

"Nah. I think my bros can live without the Shellraiser for a week." Raph replied, shrugging and rubbing the back of his neck nervously at the long, lingering look Kirby was giving him.

Kirby chuckled at the answer, adjusting his body in order to dig his keys from his pocket. Going through the few keys to unwrap a dull, scratched brass key from the ring before handing it to the terrapin.

Raph was about to grab it when Kirby held it back. Upon Raphael's confusion, Kirby spoke, "Just promise me you'll make it a surprise party for her."

"Of course." Raphael's replied, green meeting the blue of April's father as he placed it into his palm. "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome, Raphael. I couldn't have asked for a better man for my daughter." Kirby honestly admitted, a firm hand on his shoulder.

Face involuntarily flushing, all froze when a sound of a key was pushed into the lock.

April was here.

Raphael spared a quick panicked glance at Kirby and the man just smiled, gesturing to the kitchen window and a swift escape.

"Thank you." Raph mouthed; hightailing it to the kitchen and back out into the light of day. Taking a quick look back, he returned the light wave Kirby sent his way.

* * *

It wasn't until later that week when they were lying together watching a movie where Raphael leaned over and whispered the plans of Northampton into her ear.

The curious look he received was expected; what he didn't wasn't the brilliant smile that lit up her face.

"You sneaky bastard, I was gonna suggest that!" she laughed.

Raphael didn't expect that answer, but he was quick to return the smile with a smug grin.

"Well, I beat cha to it, O'Neil. Try better next time." he quipped, grasping cheekily at her sides in order to tickle her.

The redhead thwarted his plans by squealing and slapping his hands away. Instead, April suddenly pulled him in for a hug. The connotations of their plans and getting to spend time together rose to the surface. So excited and surprised he was the first to bring it up.

Raphael smiled into her loose hair. Tongue firmly adamant to keep the other parts of his plan secret - but the Northampton one he let slip; all that remained was for the rest to come to fruition...


	32. Sunrise

**Afterglow - Chapter 32**

 **Rated: T**

 **Sunrise**

 _Chapter Summary: To celebrate her birthday and the start of summer break, April, along with Raphael head to the place where it all started._

* * *

There was something about driving for hours upon end that was relaxing for the normally hotheaded terrapin even if it was a pain in the ass to finally get out of the big city. Raphael quickly had come to despise traffic all while still getting well-acquainted to driving the Shellraiser. An odd experience of a bunch of different battling emotions to say the least.

Yet, once he had driven an hour north, it was nothing but smooth sailing.

Bountiful trees, mountains, and farmland as far as the eye could see; the beauty in nature lost on New York City with it's steel skyscrapers, concrete streets, and endless stream of people, cars, graffiti, and pollution. Getting out and being enveloped by and in nature was an experience Raphael never would have imagined happening in his life...and it was all thanks to her...

The red-banded terrapin stole a quick glance of his sleeping girlfriend sitting on the seat next to him; body curled in his direction and drooling a bit on the pillow underneath her head. He couldn't stop the dopey smile that crossed his face upon seeing her. She'd been asleep for most of the drive since she was gone most of the day finishing the last of her finals and packing while he got to sleep in til they left that evening.

Raphael realized he didn't mind driving at all.

Eyes re-glued to the road in front of him, he took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air from the cracked window. Relishing the cool, clean air and the fact the two of them were going to be spending the next week and a half away from his annoying brothers...and to finally be alone. Those wondrous thoughts dancing in his head, he calmly drove the remainder of the way toward Northampton.

* * *

"Hey, we're here." the whisper tickled across her ear, slightly disturbing the tuft of orange bangs.

April grumbled and tried to ignore the voice to get some much more needed sleep, but her boyfriend wasn't having any of it. He reached over from his place at her open door, undid her seat-belt before unceremoniously scooped the thin woman into his arms.

"R-Raph..." April growled sleepily, mourning the loss of her soft pillow when she was greeted with Raph's hard chest plates against her freckled cheek.

"I warned you." he chuckled, walking the distance to the porch.

"Ya better be takin' me to bed." she mumbled back, trying to make herself as comfortable as possible in his arms, which she would admit was pretty damn easy...

"You'll get yer wish for about half-an-hour while I unload the vehicle but I'll be dragging your ass out again to watch the sunrise." he replied, unlocking the door and entering the house.

"Ugh...we're here for over a _week_...there'll be _plenty_ of sunrises that I'm not completely exhausted to see..." her voice slurred and muffled into his throat but he could tell she was at least semi-conscious to form decent sentences.

"Not the very first one from our trip here though." He reminded her and she just grumbled something nonsensical in response.

Raphael smile widened at that; making his way through the familiar house.

It'd been over a year since they were last here and it was evident by the thin layer of dust that accumulated on various furniture around the house. Walking up the stairs, he chose the largest room for them to share during their stay. Glancing at the bed in the darkened room, he was glad to see it was clean of dust or other debris before carefully placing his girlfriend atop of comforter. Brushing his lips along her forehead, he left her to sleep for a bit as he got to work.

Raph worked quickly; emptying the Shellraiser of food, essentials, and a couple necessities; hooking up the electricity by going off Donatello's well-written instructions. Once that and the water was taken care, of the sky began to gradually lighten, giving him just enough time to collect April whether she wanted to be or not.

As expected, she was still fast asleep and drooling in the exact same position he laid her down.

"April, come on." Raph spoke, pushing lightly at her thin shoulder.

The redhead in question just grumbled indistinctly but sounded surprising close to _"leave me alone"_ but Raphael wasn't sure.

Not to be deterred, Raphael poked her in her stomach and April instantaneously slapped his hand away from her infamous tickle-spot. Rather amused at the sleepy redhead's behavior but not wanting to drag this out, he spoke again.

"April, you have two choices. Either you walk with me or I'll have to carry you to the porch. Your choice." he laid down the ultimatum and awaited her answer.

Blue eyes peeked out from behind her lids as she took in his blurry form looming over her.

Squinting at the barest hints of light coming through the windows, she lazily reached her arms out for him. There was no way in hell she was walking right now.

Raph chuckled lightly at that; she didn't even bother speaking. Not wanting to miss the sunrise because of her laziness, he allowed her to wrap her arms around his neck and he picked her up bridal-style.

"Thanks..." she muttered into his throat as they exited the room.

"Don't get used to the chauffeur service, O'Neil."

"Mmm...Too late. I'm addicted for life..." she smiled, lazily kissing his pulse point as he made it down the stairs and onto the porch.

"Sure, but next time, I'm dumping you in the lake."

"You do and you won't live to see your next birthday."

Raphael couldn't help but laugh at her threats, she was about as vicious as a lethargic kitten right now. "I'll keep that in mind." he stated anyway.

The porch swing, while old, was well made.

Wood sturdy and foundation optimum to hold even his over 300 pound weight. Didn't stop it from making an egregious squeak as he sat down with April still in his lap; he didn't seem to care about the sound the swing made once pitch black night sky began growing lighter. Yellow, pink and red hues painted beautifully across the expanse of sky and the surrounding clouds; the brilliant colors kissing the tops of rustling trees.

Feeling the redhead adjust slightly in his arms, Raphael spared a glance down and was surprised to see April's eyes slightly open. She was taking in the view as well. His eyes resting on her longer than usual, he couldn't help but take in how the colors danced across her face.

Sensing his eyes on her, she met his gaze and gave him a lazy smile. When he returned it, a sense of utter and complete happiness overwhelmed her and she couldn't help but express it.

Raphael didn't expect her to sit up and kiss him. Lips warm and soft pressing on his own as the first hint of sun peeked out from between the thinner layers of trees. She pulled away to lay her head back on his shoulder. Resting his own on top of hers, both relaxed at the scene transpiring. The bright rays illuminated across the expanse of green grass and trees rusting. The chirping of birds and the fading of cicadas surrounding them.

It was perfect...

* * *

Yet, it wasn't to last.

The two, while technically on vacation, still had a shitload of stuff to do before they could even fathom enjoying whatever remained of it. The group had left the house a bit of a hurry the first time around; leaving a lot of trash and things needing fixing considering the craziness that took place here. Between the living swamp monsters that turned Raphael into a flower, Leo's spiraling depression, Bigfoot, not to mention the Kraang stuff in the basement...it was a hell of a lot to cleanup.

A royal pain in the ass to say the least.

The couple worked all day, cleaning, mopping, and hauling trash; emptying, cleaning, and restocking the fridge and pantry. All in all, just making Northampton livable again. An all day project that was long, tiring, and downright exhausting behind them, the two were barely able to amble up the stairs to the bed before falling asleep within seconds.

Both knew whatever happened, tomorrow would definitely be better...

* * *

April groaned into the pillow; hating how her body had adjusted to her 5am work-out and college sleeping schedule that became ingrained into every fiber of her being over the past couple months.

It _really_ sucked when every part of her body ached fiercely from the marathon of cleaning yesterday.

Knowing sleep was not possible because of her damn inner clock, April sat up and stretched her arms high over her head. A yawn escaping as she took in the before-dawn that awaited outside the window. The black sky and bright twinkling stars greeting her. Wiping the remainder of sleep from her eyes, she couldn't help but smile when the occupant next to her adjusted a bit in his sleep. April could barely make out his shape in the darkness, but it didn't stop her from reaching over and caressing his arm. Taking time in brushing her finger over every curve and line of hard muscle that adorned it...still one of her favorite things about him.

April took a second to lean down to kiss his face before deciding to start the day right.

Ambling down the stairs, she made her a pot of coffee before going out on the porch to watch the sunrise...all she hoped now was that Raphael decided to join her. Mainly because dragging his gargantuan ass out of bed wasn't even possible...

* * *

The first thing Raphael became aware of is the slight nip in the air. A chill he swore wasn't there just moments ago. A hand brushing along the other side of the bed, he found he was correct when April had indeed left; the sheets barely holding on to a glimpse of warmth.

It was enough to pry his ass from the sheets.

Sitting up, he quickly headed to the bathroom to take care of business and brush his teeth before he went in search of his redheaded girlfriend.

 _Forget sneaking up on her_...he muttered internally.

The creaky floorboards under him made it sound like an elephant was prancing through the house. Even if he was only100 pounds, he was certain it would sound the exact same.

Raphael peeked into the dark kitchen, the living room, and the foyer without any luck.

It was only when he passed the open front door where he saw her.

Leaning against the wooden porch and peering out at the upcoming sunrise was April.

The pink and yellow hues illuminating off her fair skin causing her to appear almost ethereal. As he took in her form and recalling just everything about her from her fierce stubbornness, fiery personality, and the most kind heart. All he could think about was just how unbelievably fortunate, blessed, lucky (or whatever you want to call it) he was..

How this girl who had the world at her fingertips would choose someone like him. The reality of it still blew his fuckin' mind.

Raphael wasn't sure how long he stood here; shoulder pressing into the doorway and staring at her, but his reverie was broken upon April sensing him.

Head turning and face peering at him over her shoulder; she smiled. Bright white teeth showcasing proudly between her lips as she took in his visage.

"Good Morning, Sleepyhead..." she greeted.

"Hmph." he relied with a throaty chuckle before pushing away from the door and closing the distance that separated them.

Deciding to stand behind her rather than at her side, his arms eagerly wrapped around her. Sure to rest his head upon her thin shoulder; one hand pressing gingerly atop her flat stomach while the other grasped her hand. She immediately tightened her fingers around his digits and melted into him; pressing her back against his plastron.

"Hmm..." he breathed into her neck and caressed his cheek against hers; the action causing her own to flush, "...it is now..."

April smiled at his affection, certain to lean further back and rest the majority of her weight upon his sturdy stance. It was moments like these she cherished most. The opportunity to just be with him without distractions or obstacles; the ability to be in his presence and absorb the blessing it was. As crazy as her life was at times, he was one thing she wouldn't change for the world.

And by how he held her right now, she knew he felt exactly the same...


	33. Food Fights and Frisky Behavior

**Afterglow - Chapter 32**

 **Rated: T**

 **Food Fights and Frisky Behavior**

 _Chapter Summary: Raph and April finally have some time to explore Northampton...other activities ensue._

* * *

 **I was sorely tempted to break this into two chapters because it was getting out of hand length-wise and even had a nice breaking point, but I thought, what the hell? Just submit it as is. Sorry if it** **'s a bit long but I knew y'all wouldn't mind. :-)**

* * *

Working side by side in the kitchen, the couple made sandwiches, packing a light lunch for the hike, or light walk rather, they planned for that morning. They'd awakened early and began preparing to head out before it got too hot. It was too bad their foresight would be for naught.

Currently, Raphael was placing some lunch meat onto bread when he felt a sudden rap upon the surface of his carapace. Peering over at April to see if she was responsible, he was confused to see her face turned and concentrating on one thing or another. Brushing aside the notion and putting it off to his imagination, he went back to his job when this time, something cold and round ricocheted off the back of his head with a _plunk_. The object fell to the floor where he knew for sure now that it wasn't his brain's imagining.

Raphael peered down at the offending object - a grape.

Narrowed eyes rose to his girlfriend and he noticed her still entranced with her work, but this time, she was desperately holding back an evil, crooked smile.

 _Well, well, if that_ _'s how it was going to be - than t_ _wo could play at that game..._ He grumbled internally as he went back to his task.

Valiantly ignoring the circumstantial evidence, Raphael went back to finishing up their sandwiches and played coy. All too soon, he heard slight movement and turned just in time to catch the small object in mid-air between his fingers just as it was being flung at him.

April didn't seem much too surprised; he supposed over the years of witnessing the many ninjitsu feats he'd do on a daily basis; this was nothing.

"What is this?" he asked, giving her the benefit of the doubt to see if she'd fess up to her crime.

"...um...a grape?" she responded in a very "well, duh" tone.

Raphael didn't like that...not one bit. Reminded him far too much of his genius brother when he was being an unruly smart ass. The two were more alike than he cared to think.

"No, really? What I meant was, why were you throwing it at me?" Raphael reiterated, one brow ridge raised and a very nonsensical stern frown adorning his face.

"Do I need a reason? Maybe I just wanted to." she responded with a playful shrug and a wink which normally would quench whatever annoyance at her behavior, but not this time.

"Well, O'Neil. If it's a food fight you wanted than it's a food fight you'll get..." he growled, a feral smirk lighting up his face as he grabbed the spoon out of the mayonnaise.

"Fuckin' hell, Raph! It was a grape! Don't you **DARE** throw mayonnaise at -"

 _ **Plop.**_

April stood there in complete disbelief. A glob of white mayo deposited on her bangs before slowly slipping down and landing with a disgusting _pppbbtt_ noise onto the once-clean floor beneath her.

April saw red, her eyes narrowing to slits as she stared at the shit-eating grin her boyfriend was giving her.

"There. See? It's not so fun now, is it?" he asked but it was far too late.

" **I'm gonna** _ **kill**_ **you!** " she screamed, shooting toward him like a bat outta hell and for once, Raphael did not see it coming. He barely had a chance to let out a particularly girly-scream as April charged at him with a bellowing battle cry.

Landing upon his chest was April and all too soon, Raphael found himself wobbling precariously on his convex carapace as the redhead made a grab for the mustard.

As soon as April squeezed the bottle and the yellow substance went flying for his face, Raphael had burrowed his head into his shell. The mustard missing its intended target and making a horrible splattering onto the hardwood floors they'd spent hours cleaning just yesterday. The shock at seeing that not even a single fleck of the substance was on her boyfriend, April had it.

"You jerk!" she screeched, shaking the mustard frantically and awaited his head to reappear. She wasn't sure how long she waited for his stupidly adorable face to pop out.

"You have to come out sometime!" she screamed in frustration.

"Says who?" he asked, words muffled in his shell.

"I say!" she screamed, well aware she sounded like a petulant child but she didn't care.

April didn't have the chance for Raphael's arms reemerged and he grasped the mustard. The two struggled for the bottle, which was quite a sight with a mayonnaise-haired girl and a huge headless mutant turtle fighting for a mustard bottle. After a few moments of going back and forth with it, the mustard somehow squirted upward and landed right upon her hair, sliding off where the mayo did just moments earlier.

All went completely silent and Raphael's head slowly reemerged to see April more enraged than he had his entire life.

"Oops..." he muttered under his breath.

It was just the cue April needed for in his shock, his grasp eased on the bottle and Raphael got a face full of the vinegary yellow globs. Bolting forward in a yell when some got in his eyes, knocking April to the side where his head buried into her stomach; the squelch of the condiment on her shirt rang throughout the kitchen.

Anger intensifying, April grasped at his mask tails that somehow got covered in mustard too. In Raphael's franticness, he grasped her waist and hit a notorious tickle spot. She screamed and involuntarily laughed at the pressure his fingers were unknowingly causing.

The couple rolling around on the kitchen floor as both tried to dominate the situation. It all ended up to be a huge mess where Raphael found himself over her; eyes burning from the mustard and staring down at his condiment-covered girlfriend that looked none too happy in her predicament.

"I'm sorry..." he wheezed knowing he was going to have to say it eventually - might as well get it over with.

"Damn right you are." she growled, throwing the now empty bottle at his thick skull where it bonked off his notoriously hard head and ended up hitting her square between the eyes with a painful bonk. She was well-aware it probably hurt more than him - hell, she didn't even have to ask to _know_ it did...

"That was your fault."

"Shut up..." she growled, all the fight taken out of her as she nursed what would no doubt turn into a knot later. "Now, would you kindly get _off_?" she continued and Raphael was more than eager to comply.

April sat up after Raphael lumbered off; trying desperately to remove chunks of mayonnaise and mustard still sticking to her hair. The anger raging until the second her eyes fell on Raphael; the turtle in question looking akin to a kicked puppy. Pouty lower lip and downtrodden face so adorably pathetic (even covered in smears of mustard) that she couldn't help but feel bad for reacting how she did; even if he was an ass for pulling that stunt.

"I'm gonna shower while you clean up this mess. When I'm done, we'll finish packing for the hike. Okay?" April laid out the plan and the shock that overcame his face had her heart clenching even if she hadn't completely forgiven him.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Doesn't mean we're even though, mister. You'll pay for that." she threatened as she stood to her feet careful not to slip on any obstruction on the floor.

"Okay." he answered almost eagerly as April left the room to wash the disgusting concoction out of her hair and change her mustard splattered clothes.

* * *

Once fresh clean and with a fresh pair of clothes, April was more than surprised to find everything ready to go. She wouldn't lie; when Raphael was apologetic, he sure made up for it. He was sitting at the kitchen island, mask dark and face and body clean. Upon closure inspection, he washed his mask in the sink and she was pleasantly surprised when he smelt nice and not at all like he'd gotten a face full of mustard just half-an-hour earlier.

"You ready?" he asked, hands nervously folding this way in that in his lap.

"Yeah..." she whispered, leaning forward to let him know it was okay, she kissed him. Arms wrapping around his neck where she lightly grasped the wet mask tails to pull him even closer.

Raphael returned it for a moment before she pulled away. Feeling substantially better that she wasn't going to kill him, he moved to retrieve the picnic basket. She smiled at him when she pulled back; not saying a word as she headed to the front door where Raphael followed. Both of them all too eager to get out and hike around the property even if it was more than an hour later than they planned.

* * *

"You hungry yet?" Raphael asked when they found a clear spot with nice grass and no ant hoards in sight.

"Sure." April replied before he quickly laid out the blanket and April began setting out their lunch. Laying out a few sandwiches, chips, baby carrots, grapes, and a strawberry pie she'd bought yesterday from the older lady who sold her homemade pies at the general store.

The two ate; conversation surprisingly pleasant considering what happened that morning.

Small talk came more naturally when Raphael realized April wasn't completely furious with him anymore and he took advantage of that. Conversations led to flirting, flirting led to more physical closeness, and being in a playful mood, what was supposed to be a relaxing lunch soon turned into something more. April was barely halfway through her slice of pie as Raphael began getting a little frisky and playful.

"Raph..." April warned but it came out more as a moan as he partially buried his snout in her neck. His hands on her hips too damn close to her ticklish areas for her liking.

"Mm-hmm?" he asked, nipping lightly to put her in a false sense of security.

April bit her lip at the sensation of his deep raspy voice upon her throat, her free arm wrapping around his neck before she suddenly found herself helpless upon her back. He quickly got on top; purposely and mercilessly began wiggling his fingertips; prodding them into her sides and belly.

"STOPPIT!" The redhead screamed; desperately flinging her arms and accidentally mushing a good chunk of her leftover strawberry pie onto his face.

All went silent and still as the red fruit pie slid down his muzzle and landed with a plop onto the grass.

" _ **Now**_ we're even..." she said triumphantly, a smug smirk pulling at her lips.

"You did that on purpose!" he sounded so offended.

" **No**. I _told_ you to stop."

The pout he gave her in return was priceless.

April bit her lip to keep from laughing at how Raphael's face was now stained red in more ways than one; his cheeks on fire and the juices and pulp of the fruit and golden brown crust pasted across his snout and lips.

"Hey, at least this color closely resembles your mask." she chuckled.

"Not funny..." Raphael's green eyes were narrowed and it appeared he was more than ready for payback when April got a brilliant idea. Quickly sitting up, she brushed off most of it off his face before leaning in to languidly kiss the corner of his mouth. That was enough to shock the terrapin into dropping any thoughts of revenge. The redhead didn't stop, her soft pink tongue flicking out to taste the remains of the juicy, sugary strawberry concoction off his cheeks and mouth.

April hid back a smile when she heard a throaty groan rumble in his chest before brushing out across her neck and hair. Slipping a hand behind his neck, she pulled him over top of her again; lips pressing insistently over his wide mouth. Before long, her little indiscretion was forgotten and both of them lost themselves in one another. Pressing of mouths, flicks of wet tongue and the barest hints of teeth were all they knew.

April moaned into his mouth, pulling him to lay fuller on top of her. The redhead more more than eager just to forget their planned day ahead of them just to return to the farmhouse to spend the rest of the day (and night) in bed...

It appeared Raphael had different plans for the second April's hands began scooting a little too low down his plastron, the terrapin pulled away. Their lips parting with a wet pop all while April started up curiously at him. Confusion lacing her blue eyes and her swollen pink lips begging to be kissed again.

"D-Do you wanna go on that hike now?" he asked almost nervously.

The redhead swallowed thickly, her fingers still playing with the tail ends of his mask. If she'd kissed him like that on any other occasion he'd already have taken her clothes off and been inside her, but here he was, asking her if she wanted to take a hike...literally.

"Do you?" she asked, one manicured eyebrow lifted in curiosity of what perhaps could have gotten into her normally constantly horny boyfriend.

"Y-Yeah, I mean, if you want." he shrugged, pulling his weight off her further.

"Uh, sure." April replied reluctantly. She would have loved to continue their make-out session instead, but she supposed they had all night and the rest of their time here to screw like rabbits, so why not continue with their other plans first?

"Great." he smiled, helping her to her feet before he began putting the remainder of the food in the picnic basket.

April helped and pretty soon, they were off; hand in hand as they walked through the forest; making sure to stay on a path so they wouldn't get lost. April was certain they wouldn't regardless since she knew this place like the back of her hand, but it couldn't hurt to be safe.

The morning was mostly cool, their picnic lunch area had a nice breeze and their walk was pleasant as they weaved through the mostly shady forests. Occasionally coming upon deer and beautiful wildlife on their journey. Raph smiled when April grasped his hand; pointing out an impressive buck just yards away. They watched the magnificent creature for a few minutes before it got scared off by a few random squirrels chasing each other throughout the brush and leaves.

It was midday when the sun became much too unpleasant. It's harsh rays felt wonderful for Raphael but not for the fair-skinned redhead who was glad she decided to wear her usual garb which covered her delicate shoulders and arms from the unforgiving sun.

"You wanna take a break?" he asked, brushing a hand along her back, which had become quite damp from the heat.

"That would be great." April chuckled, wiping her sweaty bangs from dripping in her eyes.

The couple walked a few more minutes until they came across an open patch of land. Beautiful soft grass and a nice open area with a few trees that gave plenty of shade. Raph enjoyed the novelty of the smooth blades underneath his toes after placing the picnic basket down. He was glad he chose to forgo his pads, wrappings, and belt today.

"This looks amazing!" April chuckled, happily running toward and laying down under a tree to enjoy the coolness of the vegetation and the shade that was blocking out most of the sun. Cool breeze heavenly on her heated, slightly sweaty skin.

Raph was more than content with watching her for a moment before joining her. Carefully settling himself beside her, but upside-down instead. He rested his hands upon his stomach and enjoyed the light filtering through the trees making a dappling effect on their skin and the grass below. The beautiful shifting clouds beyond a perfect backdrop to the rich blue sky. The only sounds punctuating the silence was their combined breathing, the chirping of birds and the sploshing of the creek nearby.

There was nothing like this in the world - Raphael was certain of that.

If you told him three years ago that he would be with April and having a vacation of sorts with her alone in Northampton, he would have punched you in the face before calling you a " _fuckin'_ _ **liar**_ " as you lay there nursing a busted nose.

It was so unbelievable that a girl, especially one as incredible as her, would ever call him friend let alone boyfriend or lover. It was strange to say the least. This amazing young woman allowing him into her life, her body, her heart... It was all too unfathomable once upon a time. A time growing up in which their father warned them of the outside world; of humans who would never accept or want nothing but to hurt or shun them...and damn, he had been right. Raphael couldn't count the number of times he'd been screamed at, kicked, punched, or berated by people he'd saved over the years simply because of how he looked. It caused him to raise walls around his heart and he swore he'd never let any human chisel them down. He expected rejection; pain and misery if he ever found himself associating with one...

Then he met her.

Yeah, she freaked the fuck out when they met her, but she surprisingly adjusted to their presence even if they brought a lot of ruckus and hellish circumstances into her life. Getting her father mutated not once, but twice, being attacked by Shredder, Foot Clan, Purple Dragons, and more mutants than one could care to meet in a lifetime. Remember this was all in the span of three years... At first, he was adamant to not let her in, to let her know he didn't trust her but she soon proved herself otherwise. Over the years in his own way, he'd fallen for her much like Donatello did.

Yet, unlike an initial love at first sight, it was gradual. Sure, she was pretty, but so were a lot of girls he saw. It wasn't her outer beauty that drew him to her in the first place. It was this fire in her. This stubbornness that would have normally drove another person away, but not him; instead, he was like a moth to the flame. She was feisty, funny, personable, and stubborn as all hell yet extremely kindhearted and compassionate. She loved animals; loved people, and cared about him and his brothers even when no one else cared to know they existed.

April O'Neil was different from those others who pushed him away.

So, he'd let her in. He fell for her but never intended on telling her; just suffering in silence until she kissed him that night atop the chicken coop almost two years ago. It boggled his mind that she'd felt the same way for awhile; he could have punched himself for not noticing sooner, but she did tell him he was oblivious. He accepted that.

"You're awfully quiet. What are you thinkin' about?" April asked, sidling up to him and resting her head atop his shoulder and chest.

Raphael's face flushed involuntarily as he met her big blue eyes. Drawn to the movement of her fingers where she was mindlessly pulling apart strands of grass with her dainty fingers. He thought about her question for a few moments and he knew lying now would be stupid.

"You." he answered simply and felt his chest clench as her cheeks grew a light pink hue and the prettiest smile lit up her face.

"Good things?" she teased, moving her arm to where his head came to rest in the crook of her elbow and her fingers played with his mask-tails.

"Yeah...real good things."

"Perv." she laughed and he just chuckled.

"Nah. That's for later." he humored her with a devilish smile and wiggling brow ridges.

"Okay...then what kind of things _were_ you thinking about?"

"Since when did chillin' under a tree turn into twenty questions, O'Neil?"

"When you got super quiet than admitted to thinking about me. It was bound to get me a little curious, Raphael." she admitted, rubbing her nose along the underside of his chin.

"Hmm. Fine. If it'll get ya off my shell. I was just, ya know, thinkin' about how happy I am."

" _Raphael Hamoto?_ **Happy**? I need to alert the local news." she teased, lifting herself up a bit to look into his eyes and increasingly red cheeks.

"Shut up. I was bein' serious, April." he grumbled.

"Me too. This is big news, Raphael! Once in a blue moon kinda thing!"

"Well, I **was** thinking good thoughts about you...Don't know about now..."

"Oh, don't be a grumpy turtle...I'm just kidding..." April mumbled, moving to her previous position and running her face against his.

"I'm a snapping turtle too, you better watch out." he growled but April could hear the lightness in his voice.

"I don't care. You're worth it..." she breathed into his skin and Raphael couldn't help but chuckle warmly at her increasing affections. "I'm sorry, Raph...I was just teasing."

"I know. It's alright..." he replied, his fingers running lightly through her short ponytail and in turn, nuzzling his face against hers; their lips brushing.

"Tell me what you were gonna say... Please?" April asked, lightly kissing his wide mouth which was a bit awkward from their positioning but she made due.

"Only cause you asked so nicely. I dunno, just everything that happened with us. It just boggles my mind sometimes. I mean, if I didn't go up to see you that night or you didn't kiss me when I did... We may have never ended up together. I dunno, just something that probably wouldn't have ever happened at anywhere or any other time, but it did..."

April grew silent for a long time, staring up at the light filtering through the thick layer of leaves and how the shadows and light played through like a kaleidoscope effect. His words profound and truthful; how close they came to never being together...but yet, here they were. It did put a lot in perspective.

"I dunno, just...My whole life I was taught to put walls up and expect rejection at every turn, yet...you proved all that wrong, April. I never imagined any of this happening to me."

"Me neither..." she admitted.

"Heh, I guess I - " he spoke but was interrupted when her mouth was suddenly on his again; tears burning the back of her eyes as she pulled his head closer to her. Mouth pressing more firmly over his as she put in every emotion, every circumstance good or bad and put it into that desperate kiss. Allowing him to know everything she was feeling inside without uttering a single word.

All too soon, she found herself fully atop his plastron and kissing him as if she never wanted to surface for air. Breathing him, his scent, his body, his soul, everything... Just Raph... Becoming aware of nothing other than the sensation of his wide, firm lips; strong, steady hands on her hip and back. Her breasts pressed upon his hard plastron plates was a bit uncomfortable but she didn't care as she continued to kiss him until she was nearly breathless.

Flicks of tongue became infiltration as the kiss continued, tongue delving into his searing hot cavern and his wide tongue exploring hers in return. Her hands could do little more than eagerly cup his adorable face and strong jaw as she lost herself in him. Within moments, her core was aching to be filled with him and she desperately wanted to grind herself against his groin to get an iota of relief, but held back much like he did earlier.

April felt as if she may explode from doing so, but her self-control won over as she reluctantly broke their lip-lock. Another devilish thought coming to her mind as she pulled herself into a seated position on his belly.

Raphael stared up at her with heavily-lidded eyes; hands never straying from her hips as he awaited her next move.

"I think we should take a swim." April suggested.

"A swim?" he asked, voice thick almost to the point of sounding drunk.

"Yeah!" she trilled happily, moving aside before standing up from her previous spot on top of him.

Raphael looked a little bit confounded as he sat up on the grass, happy he'd been able to conceal himself even though it'd been one of the hardest things he'd ever done in his life. His latest thoughts were pure confusion right now as he stared at April and back toward the shimmering bright pool just yards away.

"Um, but don't you need a swimsuit?" Raph asked.

"Nope." she replied with wiggling brows as she removed her shirt.

* * *

 **Yes, I'm well aware I'm completely evil, I know, but don't worry, you'll be getting your nsfw fill by next chapter, I promise. ;-)**


	34. Skinny Dipping and Sexy Times (NSFW)

**Afterglow - Chapter 34**

 **Rated: M**

 **Skinny Dipping and Sexy Times**

 _Chapter Summary: Exactly what the title says...and heed the rating..._

* * *

Raphael wasn't exactly sure how long he was staring til his brain caught up to what his eyes were seeing - which was indeed April stripping off all of her clothes without seemingly a care in the world. Not realizing he was in a trance watching as she finally made it to only her undergarments, the redhead sure to give him a sultry smile before her mismatched bra and panties soon joined the growing pile by her bare feet.

April O'Neil was now completely naked and only feet from where he still sat plopped on his ass...

That tantalizing view he had a hard time recalling the last time he'd seen her in such a state. The past few weeks were blue-balls territory; always look but don't touch because there was always a brother or her father around, giving the couple little to no time to do anything other than light kissing.

Hell, even _that_ was rare as of late...

Out here in Northampton, they should have been fucking like rabbits since they arrived; shit, he was surprised they made it out of the car, but the most they did was kiss a few times and cuddle a bit before falling asleep. One thing was certain - he sure as hell was going to make up for lost time...if only his body would cooperate.

"You gonna just stare all day or are you going to join me?" April asked, her toes dipping lightly in the warm water.

That was enough to break the terrapin out of his reverie - within moments, he was on his feet and by her side. Hands itching to touch her but not wanting to push boundaries if she wasn't quite ready for that yet, so like a respectful boyfriend, he kept them by his side. Watching in wonder as she moved swiftly into the pond, her nude form disappearing beneath the blue ripples. She arose after only seconds under the surface, flicking the wetness of her hair a bit before offering a hand to him.

"Since when have you been shy?" she asked, pulling him closer to her until they were chest to chest and nose to snout. Bare breasts pressing delicately upon his hard plastron and her arms wrapping tenderly across his shoulders where her head rested.

Swallowing back a lump that clogged his throat, he finally moved, hands caressing along her shoulder blades and playing with the ends of her damp hair. All too soon, he melted into her; beautiful soft body pulling him further into her warmth. The utter pleasurable sensation of touching her smooth skin forcing him to calm his manhood from unfurling. To have April this close, wet, warm, and naked pressed into him was sure to drive him to the brink of insanity.

"Damn...Yer killin' me, O'Neil..." he grumbled lowly into her ear and her light, breathy laughter only made his predicament worse.

"I surely hope not. I kinda like having you around." she joked, nails scraping pleasantly across the scutes of his carapace and nape. Her nose buried into the crevice of his neck and shoulder to breath in his clean pleasant musk.

Raphael just groaned in her ear.

"If ya keep this up, it'll be spring fever all over again." He groaned, tussling her hair with his snout in order to nip lightly at her neck.

"I'm all for that, but not right now. Let's just relax."

"That's like tellin' a fish not to swim or Mikey not to eat the last piece of pizza. In other words, fuckin' impossible..."

"Hmm...well, too bad. You really need to learn some self-control, Mr. Hamoto." she giggled into his ear and he had to literally bite his tongue so he didn't moan at loud at the sound.

"That ain't never been my strong suit, O'Neil." he replied, burying his snout in her hair as his arms tightened around her frame. His hands silently worshiping her body, running down and over every magnificent curve, learning every inch of her strictly through touch. He couldn't help but smirk victoriously as April let out a pleased sigh in his ear at his ministrations.

Damn, she was driving him fucking crazy...

"Let's swim for a bit then see what happens, okay?" she spoke suddenly, pulling her sweet heat away. While displeased, he was sure to grace her with a lopsided grin before she began to swim lazy laps around the pond. Raphael reluctantly gave in, treading the water easily as he followed her around trying desperately to keep his mind on swimming and just not how amazing she looked soaking wet and bathed in glorious sunlight; the light cascading from the water onto her bare porcelain skin and damn, fiery red hair quite a sight to behold.

" _Fuckin' hormones..."_ he grumbled internally.

It was now physically painful to keep himself inside his shell but was damn determined to do so... Mind still a jumble and libido out of control, he was rudely interrupted by a face full of mucky pond water complete with what he hoped to God was only algae.

"What in da fuck?!" he screeched, wiping desperately at his face to see April quite proud of herself.

"Hey, you weren't listening to me!" she tried to act offended around her increasingly growing Cheshire Cat Grin.

"I wasn't?" he asked thoroughly confused. He hated it when his penis controlled his thoughts.

"No, you weren't."

"Eh, sorry. What was that, babe?" he asked, a nervous hand rubbing the back of his head.

April just let out a dramatic sigh before deciding to humor him, "How long can you hold your breath?"

The involuntary innuendo was lost on April but damn, if it didn't make Raphael's cheeks turn the color of the damp mask still wrapped around his face. "E-Excuse me?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Raph! I was just wondering how long you can hold your breath underwater." she groaned, crossing her arms across her chest and blocking the beautiful view of her perky breasts from his wandering eyes.

"Eh, I dunno. 15, 20 minutes...maybe? It's been awhile." he replied, desperately wanting to ask her if she wanted to find out but he didn't want another strike against him today. He'd already been screwing up quite enough, thank you.

"Hmm. That's good to know..." she seemed vaguely interested but dropped the subject and began moving around the pond once again.

" _What was that about?"_ Raph asked internally wondering why she'd even want to ask or if this was her idea of small talk...

The two grew quiet for a short while following, the only sounds punctuating the warm air was the sound of their bodies moving lazily through the water, relentless chirping of nearby birds, and wind rustling the branches and leaves.

April began slowing down a bit after a few more laps and Raphael's boldness began leaking back in and he finally urged himself to make a move. Dipping his head underneath the water, he was silent as he approached her form underneath. Careful not to freak her out too much, he pressed his hands along her bare hips and emerged behind her. Not allowing her much leeway to skirt away, he pulled her back into his chest til she rested comfortably in front of him.

"Want to find out just how long I can hold my breath?" he asked seductively in her ear and was pleased to hear her laughing if a little nonplussed at her response.

"You're unbelievable..." she replied, leaning her head back to rest on his shoulder.

"Yeah, you already told me that before."

April didn't dignify that with a response, only shaking her head and letting out a slightly aggravated sigh. It didn't deter her from leaning into him in the least; only encouraging him to wrap his arms and hands to rest on the underside of her breasts. One arm of hers lifted, her fingers lightly brushing along his cheek as she melted into his embrace.

They stayed that way for a short while until Raphael could barely contain himself anymore. His groin pressed so ridiculously comfortably into her taut ass that it was only moments before he poked a hole straight through his plastron.

"Can we _please_ have sex now?" he groaned pathetically into her ear and April couldn't say she was surprised.

"So impatient..." she moaned, feeling probably just as needy as him if her nipples hardening painfully and the wetness developing between her legs was any indication.

"I don't care... _I want you so bad_..." he growled deep and raspy in her ear, and damn, if April wasn't wet before, she surely was now.

Yet as much as April wanted to give in, she knew the last thing she wanted was inviting more nasty pond water or algae in her vagina. Not wanting to disappoint him though, she smiled before maneuvering herself to face him, her hands immediately cupping his face and kissing that adorable pout of his.

"Is that a yes?" he breathed against her lips.

"Hmmm... Let's go back to the cabin first and then you'll get my answer." she offered.

"But why?" he groaned like a petulant child and it was so aggravatingly adorable, she couldn't help but kiss him again.

"If you must know, it's because I don't want whatever is growing in this pond to grow in my lady parts, okay?"

Raph looked a bit off-put buy how easily she said it but the look didn't last long.

April swore in all the years she'd known him that she had never seen him move so fast. In a matter of seconds, he'd picked her up with one hand and was out of the pond in record time and began collecting the clothes she'd stripped off and the picnic basket in the other.

"Let me down! I want to get dressed so I'm not walking around the forest buck-naked!" she screeched when it appeared he had no intention of placing her down.

"You won't have to walk. I'll carry you." he replied and April could have laughed at how dilated his pupils had become in the span of only moments and the offer of sex.

"Raph!" she screamed and her boyfriend reluctantly relented; giving her just enough time to get dressed and put on her shoes before he was impatiently dragging her back to the cabin in record time. Keeping true to his word when he got frustrated and picked her up and ran rest of the way when they got less than halfway toward their destination.

* * *

As soon as they passed the threshold, Raphael was all too eager to start; kissing her within an inch of her life; hands greedily cupping her breasts and his groin pressed firmly into hers but when April finally was able to, she pulled back.

"We're showering first." she informed him.

"Ooh, goody." he smirked at the indication of steamy shower sex. He sure did love seeing her all wet and slippery...in more ways than one...

" **Alone** , Raphael." she popped his bubble.

"...you're kiddin', right?"

"No, I'm not. Now, come on, I want to put something special on for you." she whispered the last part; adding a sultry wink but that was completely lost on her horny boyfriend.

" _Why_? It's just gonna come right off anyway." Raph replied thinking he was bringing up very valid points rather than getting her more aggravated.

"Raph. **Please**. Just humor me. Besides, good things come to those who wait..."

"It'll be good either way." he said with wiggling brow ridges.

"Even if that was the case, I still want to do this. Besides, Raphael, you waited more than a year for us to have sex, what's another hour gonna hurt?"

"A whole hour?! It only takes five minutes to shower!"

"For you! You don't have to shave or wash your hair!"

"B-But, April -"

"Raphael..." she said in her no-nonsense tone and that had him zipping his mouth shut. Last thing he wanted to do was change her mind entirely and he'd have to spend the rest of the night with a painful, raging hard-on.

After a pronounced sigh leaked from his lips, he acquiesced. "Fine."

"Good." she said with a big smile, grabbing his face and giving him a firm wet kiss before turning back around and heading to the bathroom well aware of the crazed state she'd left him in.

* * *

Raphael had been more than accommodating.

Sitting on their bed on his ass, staring at the clock and at the sun that began to slowly dip closer to the horizon. She'd already been gone an hour and fifteen minutes. After his shower and brushing his teeth, he'd had a fill an hour and seven minutes of pacing around and waiting for her to show up.

"I should get a damn metal for this..." he mumbled not realizing April was at the door.

"I think I can give you better than that..." April spoke up and Raphael was surprised he didn't swallow his tongue upon witnessing her arrival.

April O'Neil stood at the doorway wearing nothing but some lacy black underwear and bra. Her hair was dry in her normal ponytail but Raphael smelt the soap from her shower and a bit of powder from what had to be the light dusting of make-up she had on.

"Wow..." he couldn't help but mumble as he rose to his feet to greet her.

"Wow yourself..." she replied, her arms open as he moved to embrace the redhead.

Arms eagerly wrapped around her thin frame, hands caressing every inch of skin he could touch. Over her lacy underwear to lightly grasp one of her firm butt cheeks. It only encouraged him when she let out a light moan at his actions. He squeezed her ass lightly as her hands moved to rest upon his shoulders and melted into his firm body. Caressing those glorious, thick muscled shoulders and biceps was one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Raphael's other hand raising; thick finger pushing under her bra strap to play with the feather soft skin underneath.

A devilish idea arose to the forefront of his mind and he couldn't help himself from trying this. He grasped her closed bra-strap in his thick fingers and flicked off the other end lightly until the little hooks gave away and the elastic flung apart with a satisfying 'flick' noise.

April giggled at his action, her voice a wonderful sound against his ear as he began toying with her now open bra and began to start removing the straps from her shoulders.

"You're getting right into it tonight, huh?"

"I told ya they'd be comin' right off. FYI, your underwear is next..."

"Such an ass. You know how much I spent on these not to mention the time picking them out?" she asked yet didn't sound offended at all, just laughing at the absurdity of this all.

"Hey, if it was up to me, you'd be naked all the time."

"Lucky me - you already are..." April whispered into his neck and Raphael groaned at the action and her words.

Raphael reluctantly pulled away for a moment to look at her. The redhead's cheeks were flushed, eyelids at half mast, and damn, she was so **warm**... Looking down at her breasts, they were heaving with her thick breaths and seeing those twin mounds beckoning for his touch did something powerful to him. He leaned down, brushing his snout and lips over the exposed domed tops above the cups of her bra, languidly kissing every scattered cinnamon-colored freckle that adorned them.

April moaned unheeded at his sensual actions and before long, she couldn't take the teasing. She needed more, so she finished removing her bra for him, the article landing silently between them. His eyes lifted before he resumed his earlier position, lapping lovingly at her mounds and lovingly suckling each breast and nipple with tender care.

"Please, Raph..." April groaned into the side of his head, her nipples quickly pebbling with his ministrations. Subconsciously squeezing her legs together in order to get an iota of friction as pure lust and arousal burned in her belly. She wanted him **so** badly...

That needy sound was enough for him to pull away from her bosom. Green met blue and before she realized what happened, his lips firmly engulfed her own hot mouth.

Only knowing the sensation of his wide firm lips, tongue, and the barest hints of his teeth, she melted into him, her arms tightening around his shoulders. Paying little heed as Raphael began the removal of her underwear; panties hitting the floor soon after the bra.

Once she was completely bare to him, he pulled away; gently removing the elastic from her hair and her red locks tumbled messily about her shoulders.

April watched him for a moment, her hands rubbing circles along his shoulders and neck. Taking pleasure in touching his smooth scales and thick shoulders. Damn, his muscles felt fantastic... His handsome face and God, those eyes... April swore she'd never felt hornier in her whole life...

"That's better..." he whispered as he worshiped her bare body with eager strokes and touches.

"Hmm..." April moaned, her fingers working to unfurl the knot of his mask until it joined the pile by her feet. "Now, it's perfect..." she breathed on his lips, hands caressing his bare face before their mouths finally melted together.

Both of them so lost in each other's mouths and bodies, flicks of wet tongue and the barest hints of teeth they didn't even realize they were on the bed til they heard its springs protesting their weight. So engulfed with lust by this point that foreplay didn't last long; Raph barely being able to run his hand over her soaked, throbbing cunt a few times before she couldn't take it anymore.

April pulled at him to lay atop of her; her legs eagerly wrapping around his waist.

Raphael was a bit confused by her forwardness but April was in no mood to drag this out anymore.

"Fuck me, Raphael..." she begged, heaving her chest so it brushed his own.

"Aw, fuck..." he groaned, surprised he didn't come right there and then just hearing her say that...

"Yes...please..." she groaned unabashedly, her arms continually tightening around him, her fingernails digging into his shoulders and nape.

Hearing her pleas, the scent of her arousal, and sensation of her body so eagerly seeking out his own, Raphael's penis finally descended and instantly began gravitating toward the heat radiating from between her legs. The tip of his erection lightly brushed along her slick folds, the incredible wetness he encountered there and knowing it was for him still blew his mind.

His eyes met hers for only a moment. The questioning in them was answered by how she bit her lip and gave an eager nod, legs tightening across his hips. A smirk, a push, and a sigh than he was up to the hilt inside of her.

A groan left both of them at the same time when they were joined in the most carnal knowledge.

Raphael's hips moved slow at first to allow her to grow used to his girth but hearing her moan, "harder...please..." made his mind up for him.

Pulling out really quick to adjust, he pushed back in; fast and hard as he pillaged her wet sheath. The slickness surrounding him allowing him to speed up even further. The bed squeaking and headboard tapping the wall punctuating the soft, wet slaps of their hips meeting over and over again.

April's load moans and begging him to go _"faster"_ and _"harder"_ , and _"Oh, GOD! Right_ _ **THERE**_ _!"_ only accelerating his upcoming climax.

Raphael closed his eyes, willing this moment to last a little longer, one of his hands leaving her hips to play with her clit and caressing quick circles over the swollen nub. He needed her to come for him and soon, his wish was granted. She screamed, body convulsing wildly and vagina tightening around his penis; putting it in a near vice grip, showcasing the indication of an incredible orgasm thoroughly washing over her.

"Yes, yes, yes! **Raphael**!" she bellowed into the ceiling, spurring him to continue; plunging into her sheath over and over again. The sounds of their lovemaking probably shaking the house but that was the farthest thing from their minds.

April was so incredibly wet at this point, he eagerly began pounding into her as fast and hard as he could without hurting her. Cavern slick and pulsating ridges pulling him deeper every time he pushed back in.

"You feel so fuckin' good..." Raph groaned into her ear and she purposely grew tighter around him and damn, if as if she couldn't make it feel better, she did... "Oh...so tight..."

"Mmm...Yes...Keep going, Raph...Oh..." she replied, her fingers grasping onto the edge of his carapace tightly to just hold on and enjoy the ride. April tightened even more around him, enjoying every thick, rock-hard inch of him so deep inside of her body. The tip of his penis brushing over her cervix and smoothly gliding along her walls the most incredible sensation of pleasure she'd ever experienced.

Raphael maneuvered her legs, pulling them higher on his hips before fucking her into oblivion; hips slapping her ass cheeks in a constant rhythm as he lost himself in her body. Hearing her unheeded moans in his ear egging him on further; pounding her pussy harder and faster until her soft moans became belligerent cries of pleasure and her fingernails dug deeper into his skin. The slight pain only causing the pleasure to feel even greater (if that was even possible.) The terrapin felt his body aching to release; akin to a fire alighting in his groin as he continued pillaging her vagina. He reluctantly held back; adamant to bring her over the brink once more before he allowed himself to finish.

He picked himself up off her to look down to where they were connected. A glorious sight to see her folds surrounding the most intimate part of him. If anything, it only made it harder to hold back upon seeing her expand and contract around his continually thrusting penis.

"Fuck..." he grumbled, fingers deftly moving over her burgeoning clit that screamed for his attention. Flicking it back and forth, his eyes gravitated to her face. Her mouth agape, eyes tightly clenched closed and the most glorious moans leaving her lips. Not being able to help himself, he leaned back down, sure to keep playing with her clitoris when he kissed her. Tongue delving into her mouth to penetrate her further in any way he could. Freely plunging into her body with his tongue and penis, he accelerated only further.

April could do little more than lay back and open herself up further to him. Never had they had sex so free and intense. Her mind a torrent of emotions she didn't expect; her eyes filling with tears because of the sheer pleasure he was causing her.

 _It just felt_ _ **so**_ _good..._

All too soon, it was over, she came hard.

"Oh, RAPHIE!" she screamed into his mouth.

Cunt so tight around his still thrusting penis he had no choice but to just let go, a resounding churr that resembled her name echoing off the cabin walls as he came deep inside of her. His body shaking violently with his elongated release.

April's mouth was agape in a silent scream as another orgasm crept up on her; the warmth of his semen filling her womb left her no choice but to come again. Tears ran unheeded down her eyes as the intensity of it all came to a head.

Raphael finally came down from his sigh and was all too eager to lick away her tears.

"You okay?" he whispered in her ear.

April just laughed, tears still dripping ow her face as she pulled him further on top of her. Mouth devouring his as his penis softened, exited before slipping back into his shell. The redhead lightly nipped at his pouty lip, her hands everywhere at once; along his shoulders and arms before resting both of them to cup the dome of his head. She pulled away, gave him a teary smile; her nose bopping into his snout.

"I'm wonderful..." she chuckled, running her cheek along his and held him all the tighter...

"That's good...so um...did you just call me Raphie?"


	35. Happy Birthday, April!

**Afterglow - Chapter 35**

 **Rated: T/M-ish**

 **Happy Birthday, April  
**

 _Chapter Summary: April learns the depth of Raph_ _'s heart and eats some tasty pancakes while doing so._

* * *

With Raphael fast asleep beside her, April was quite surprised she was still awake from the intensity of their lovemaking that took place only an hour prior. The sheer passion that overtook both of them was enough to knock Raphael out rather quickly but an hour later, she found herself still staring at the ceiling while her boyfriend slumbered away.

Looking toward the window, she got her answer. It was barely 8pm.

Her boyfriend dead to the world and herself wide awake without any other distractions gave her a lot of time to think about things she really didn't want to. Such at the fact that tomorrow was her 20th birthday - and she was spending it in Northampton...

Up unto this point, preceding birthdays had never been very eventful. Ever since her mother disappeared when she was a child, birthdays had never seemed to be much of a big deal. Her father tried his damnedest to make April's birthdays special, but with overwhelming amount of work to support her, he was absent for most of them.

Nothing like the way her mother celebrated her only child's special day.

April still remembered being a little girl at only six, walking down the stairs at Northampton to her beautiful mother standing near the dining room table. April's baby blue's lit up upon seeing a stack of pancakes with five brightly colored candles arranged on top of the stack, all lit.

Meeting her mother's warm green eyes and she gave her a smile that morning was perhaps the clearest and happiest memory April had of her mother. In those moments being with her pretty blonde mom, never realizing that she'd disappear within a few weeks time...

As the years went on and after she met the turtles, having them and Splinter as friends, or family rather, did have it's perks. Her birthdays were cause for celebration and the boys always made sure to prepare something special for her. Having Raphael as a boyfriend didn't change that. They always had her party at the lair, sure to invite her dad along if he wasn't working, complete with pizza, cake and their thoughtful homemade presents. It was a lot of fun but even with this great family surrounding her, there was still an emptiness that overshadowed the day; an empty space where a certain someone should occupy.

During said day, she smiled and acted like she was supposed to but it was still difficult when she was alone.

Like clockwork, on her birthdays whether it was the night before like her current predicament or during the quiet moments, she was always recalling the mother she lost. A life taken, disappearing without any sense of closure. The Kraang thing that happened here at Northampton almost two years ago even made it harder to deal with. Seeing that copy of her mother - perfectly representing her every feature, walk, expression, personality - even the way she smelt. Knowing it was all a lie made it all the worse. Recalling finding out she was still gone and probably never be regained had something precious re-shattering inside her chest. The sudden pain echoing in her soul had her subconsciously pulling herself deeper into the embrace of her slumbering boyfriend. Seemingly sensing her distress even in sleep, his arms noticeably tightened around her.

April gripped him tighter, one of her arms draping over his shoulder and burying her face into his warm throat as tears burned her eyes. So many thoughts bombarded her in this moment; so many times in which her mom was here. How much her mother would have loved Raphael and his family; to know she'd found her soulmate. To be able to talk to her and ask her thing only mothers could answer... She tried to hide it, she really did...but before she realized it, tears began leaking down her face. Even after nearly 14 years, grieving the mother she lost...

April cried herself to sleep that night...never knowing Raphael had been awake through it all.

* * *

April's barest hints of consciousness were foggy, only the smell of something cooking downstairs the catalyst for her awaking at all. She groaned, ignoring it for now as she rolled over deeper into the warm comforter and attempted to go back to sleep when she suddenly remembered in horror that she was at Northampton...and the only one here was was...

" **RAPH**! _What the hell are you doing_?!" April shrilled, sprinting into the kitchen wearing absolutely nothing but an elastic in her hair.

Raphael was calm, standing at the stove, gingerly turning over a golden brown pancake on the griddle.

"Well, I wanted to surprise you, but kinda late for that. You're usually such a heavy sleeper." Raph replied with a shrug, finally looking at her. Eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he grinned cheekily when he laid they landed on his beautiful girlfriend's choice of breakfast attire. "Wow. Kinda hoping you spill syrup on yourself now..." Raph continued, his voice gaining a wonderful raspy quality as he chuckled quietly to himself, his eyes roving over her gorgeous naked physique.

"Wha..." April said, finally looking down at herself and noticing her clothing, or rather, lack of it.

"Hey! I get it! Birthday suit. Perfect outfit for today. I for one, am **not** gonna complain." Raph continued much to April's discomfort as she immediately covered her lady parts as much as she could with her small hands and arms.

April huffed at his utter lack of concern to her questioning before making her way back to the bedroom to throw on a pair of panties and a thin v-neck t-shirt before marching straight back into the kitchen. When Raph was in her sights again, she continued her questioning, "You never answered me! _Why_ are you cooking!?"

"I told you I wanted to surprise you."

"But - Donnie said Splinter banned you from their kitchen, and you broke my dad's really expensive coffee machine! You understand my skepticism, Raphael."

"Relax, babe. I actually asked Mikey to help me learn to cook a bit these past two weeks when you were into your classes, studying and stuff. Ya know, as absentminded as Mike is most of the time, he's a great cook when he wants to be. He helped a lot and I learned how not to burn down the kitchen as well as make some killer flapjacks! See?" Raph said, proudly showcasing his golden-brown creation in the steady proffered spatula.

April looked at the pancake perched upon the metal utensil before she lifted her eyes to his. His face was in an easy relaxed smile, a barely noticeable blush on his sharp cheekbones.

"How did you know?" April asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Know what?" Raph replied quizzically, placing the finished pancake upon the stack by the stove.

"Birthday Pancakes... I never told you...How did you know?" April clarified, not even bothering to hide the trembling in her voice.

"Your dad told me." Raph explained simply, pouring more batter onto the hot griddle. "I don't know... I just thought it'd be nice if you got some pancakes for your birthday. You always go out of your way to do nice things for me and my family and I don't know, I wanted to do something special for you."

April stared at the green-eyed terrapin in shock. A warmth reverberated through her chest as she felt a slight wobble in her lower lip; her eyes immediately flooding with tears.

Raph put the batter aside and glanced over at April, who had suddenly grew quiet.

"Oh no! April! Don't cry! What's wrong?!" Raphael asked, stepping over to her side to wrap his arms around her taut frame. She immediately buried her face into his throat and loudly sobbed into his cool flesh.

"I just love you so much..." she whimpered, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck.

"I love you too... C'mon, don't be sad. It's your birthday! I'd be a shitty boyfriend if I made the Birthday Girl cry, now, c'mon, let's eat some pancakes before they get cold." Raph offered softly, his cool hands cradling her tear-soaked face.

"I'm not sad." April clarified, her hands curving along the back of his head. "You just made me so happy. I mean, you actually learned to cook pancakes just so you could do this for me?"

"Heh. Ya know I'd do anything for you, and besides, I love pancakes. Now I can make them all the time since Splinter now finds me to be less of a nuisance in the kitchen." Raph replied, brushing away her bangs before leaning in and kissing her warmly on the forehead.

April closed her eyes at the sweet gesture, her hands moving to nestle his rough cheeks in her dainty hands. She sniveled loudly, pulling him towards her and hugging him tightly once again.

"You're burning the pancakes." April nasally giggled against his throat.

"Oh, shit!" Raph said, gently pulling away and scraping the burnt flapjack from the non-stick griddle and throwing the ruined pancakes into the sink. "Oops. Guess I still need a bit of practice."

"Yeah." April agreed, wiping her face of the remnants of tears.

April walked over to the kitchen island and sat down on the stool. She watched in pure contentment as Raphael cooked the rest of the pancakes, separating the flat cakes onto two plates after turning off the burners. He set down the taller one in front of her and seemingly out of nowhere pulled a candle molded with the number '20' on it. April put her hand to her mouth, tears threatening to fall again as he placed it atop of her stack. He stroke a match and lit the candle, throwing the match into the sink before standing next to her.

"Happy Birthday, April." Raph spoke softly, his thumb brushing away the solitary tear that escaped. "I'd sing the song but I want you to keep your hearing."

April laughed softly at his statement, her eyes looking away from him to the lit candle atop her stack of mismatched pancakes. She was instantly brought back to that moment exactly fourteen years ago today. Picturing her mother's beautiful smiling face, her softly spoken sentiments, and warm hugs. Losing her mom at such a young age was something she never wanted to happen and wouldn't wish on her worst enemy. To this day, it still hurt to know she'd never see her again in this life - but if she was honest with herself, she still wouldn't change anything.

Blue eyes skimming over to Raphael who stood smiling, his hands encompassing hers and giving them a tender squeeze. Even though he appeared gruff and angry on the exterior, showcased throughout their relationship, he kept up that facade to hide the fact he had a big gooey marshmallow interior. It dawned at her that having this big lug in her life made her realize just how lucky she was. Throughout all the crap they'd been through to get here, she wouldn't have changed a thing.

 _Especially him..._

So, while she didn't have her mom right here making her pancakes, she knew Raph could perfectly suffice. He'd never exactly fill the hole left by her mother's absence, but with him here, the pain seemed to be a lot more tolerable.

"Thank you." April whispered tearfully, squeezing his large index.

"Your welcome. Anything for my girl." Raph replied, leaning over to kiss another tear that fell. "Now, come on, let's eat."

"Sounds good to me." April replied, watching Raphael get the syrup, butter, and orange juice from the fridge before walking back over, pulling out a stool to sit next to her.

As the meal progressed, April took multiple glances at her boyfriend, the warmth from his actions and simple affection making her heart swell with unconditional love for him. Familiar warmth pulling in her belly much like the same that overtook her last night. His kindness only increasing these feelings to a degree she was certain she'd lose her mind if she didn't act on them.

Nothing holding her back from expressing it, April reached over, grabbing his hand as he was lifting his fork to his mouth. Without warning, she wrapped her other arm around his neck, pressing her lips hard over his. She eagerly lapped the syrup that was still on his wide lips as she attacked his mouth with a vengeance.

Raph tensed for only a moment before fervently kissing her back, dropping the fork onto the table before wrapping his arms around her small, delicate frame. She coaxed his mouth to open, tasting the sweet syrup on his tongue as hers rushed out of her mouth to meet his.

April somehow made her way into his lap over the course of the following minutes; her body aching and craving him all over again. She moaned into his mouth as her already wet panties pressed firmly into his hard plastron plates.

Raphael trembled a bit at her forwardness, placing his feet upon her linoleum floor, not trusting the stool to remain upright if this was headed where he hoped to God it was.

She pulled away suddenly, her breathing labored against his mouth as she regained her bearings. Arms still draped loosely around his thickly muscled shoulders, her legs splayed so she could sit on his hips and grind against him.

"So..." April mumbled against his mouth, smiling softly to herself when she saw the blush on his cheekbones widen.

"So...?" Raph asked, rubbing an index down the length of her spine; the action causing electricity to liven down her entire body.

"You were saying something about spilling syrup on me?" April smiled cheekily, removing her hand from his shoulders only to lower to the hem of her shirt and lifting it off of her head and flinging it somewhere on the floor.

April watched in eager trepidation as her bare breasts were revealed to him; his eyes growing and staring at them for a good few seconds before they met hers. Blue met green and she was gifted with sexy, cocky smirk that rose the corners of his wide mouth; ethereal bright emerald eyes sparkled with mirth and lust. A beautiful combination if there ever was one...

"Oh, hell, yeah..." Raph chuckled, reaching for the syrup bottle; not shy as he poured a good amount of the sweet amber liquid upon on her heaving mounds. The excess dripping down he chest and coating her nipples; Raphael was all too eager to lean in and lick them clean much to April's tremendous pleasure.

* * *

A few hours later, the two lovers were splayed across the cool bed sheets, regaining their breath after what felt like running a marathon.

The passion that overtook them was even more intense than the previous night. Neither wanting to stop; going back for more again and again. First on the kitchen counter, one on the stool, one on the stairs before they somehow made it to the bed even if they really didn't really remember it. Lost in each other's mouths, bodies, and animalistic urges that overshadowed pretty much all their other inhibitions before the lovers finally collapsed; limbs entangling as they plopped upon the bed with a satisfied groan.

April rolled over to nestle against her boyfriend's side, noticing the sticky residue of syrup on his plastron but not caring in the least right now. The whole comforter and sheets (not to mention a good portion of the house) were probably sticky but laundry or cleaning was the farthest thing from her still lust-clouded mind.

April couldn't recall the last time she'd felt more content. Not just sexually, but in her heart. Raphael doing something so unbelievably kind for her in making those pancakes for her special day. He didn't have to - he wanted to - and April would have never believed the same gruff exterior turtle she met would turn out to be so fucking lovable and kindhearted when they began dating. Making her birthday special in a way she never planned to have again after her mother's death.

Yet, here she was, celebrating her birthday with the love of her life and enjoying it; sadness the farthest thing from her mind as his arms tightened around her and pulled her into his warmth. She melted into his embrace; relishing in his love and sensation of his body against hers; so different yet fitting together like two pieces in a jigsaw.

It felt so perfect...just like today...

"Thank you, Raph." April mumbled against the cool flesh of his throat.

"For what?" he asked groggily into her sweaty mop of orange hair.

"The best birthday _ever_..." April replied breathlessly, leaning forward and firmly kissing his mouth once again.


	36. Bath Time! (NSFW)

**Afterglow - Chapter 36**

 **Rated: M**

 **Bath Time!(NSFW)**

 _Chapter Summary: Raph and April bathe together - sexy and not so sexy things ensue._

* * *

 **Also, just fair warning, I am planning on making quite a few NSFW chapters in a row and not just this one. ;-) Hope no one minds.**

* * *

Mid-afternoon hit, the open window letting in the humid air and what once had been comfortable warmth now pulled into the range of severely the opposite.

April awoke with a groggy start. Skin sweaty and clammy and the remains of syrup from their earlier sexual trysts uncomfortably pulling at her skin and fine hair. Also, having sex over six times in the last12 hours without showering left her rather sweaty and feeling more than a bit disgusting down south.

Long story short, a major bath was in order.

Bleary blue eyes looked to her left where Raphael was still slumbering. The terrapin was lying on his stomach, one arm hanging off the bed and his light snores punctuating the clammy air. While fucking adorable, April knew he probably was in no better condition than she, so with her slowly cooperative muscles, she maneuvered over to his side of the bed and began nudging the turtle.

"Raph...Raph? Raph! RAPH!" she finally screamed in frustration when asking him nicely didn't accomplish her mission.

"Hrmm?" he groaned into the sheets.

"You need to get up. It's already 2pm."

"So?" he mumbled like a belligerent teenage boy...which he technically was.

After a long overly dramatic sigh, April poked him where his neck and shoulder met, the sensitive spot had him getting up almost involuntarily.

"YEOWCH!" he growled, immediately moving his hand to rub at the now tender pressure point. "What da hell, April?" he growled sleepily and she had to keep from laughing at how one tail of his mask was stuck across his face like an jagged red mustache.

"For one, Raph. I need to wash these bed sheets and two, you could go for some washing yourself. Your plastron and probably the rest of you is all sticky."

"Hey, you were the one covered in it and you thought it would be a great idea to crawl on top of me." he replied, pouting a bit as he finally pulled off the sticky mask tail from his face. The disgusted look accompanying him doing so made it all too clear he knew she was right.

"I didn't hear you complaining when I did it."

"Would you?!" he replied, face alighting anew, "I mean, _fuck_! A hot naked chick crawls on top of you, complainin' ain't really the first thing that comes to mind."

"I wouldn't know, Raph. That's never happened to me." she teased.

The smug smirk and lustful glare in his eye let her know he was thinking about it.

"Maybe it should..." he chuckled, the scenario pretty damn hot in his own mind.

"You're disgusting. You're the _only_ one I want crawling on top of me." she remarked with a scowl and a grimace of slight disgust before reaching over to touch the sticky ends of his mask; the slight crunching from the pressure of her fingers punctuated the now quiet atmosphere. "Still don't think you need a bath?"

"...fine." he acquiesced with a sigh, wiping the remainder of sleep from his eyes before moving to get off the bed.

April followed suit.

The two made quick work of taking off the sticky comforter and sheets and while April took them to the washer, Raph had a few minutes to wash his mask in the kitchen sink and hang it to dry on the window sill.

Raphael was full on ready to go to the shower room but April caught him in the hallway.

"We're not bathing there."

"Why not?"

"Who cares why, just come on." she said, leading Raphael to a room in the house he didn't recall being in before.

His green eyes look in the white door with gold trim as she unlocked than opened it, leading into an almost untouched bedroom; the thick layer of dust gathered on every surface was an obvious sign it had been a long time since anyone had been in here.

The questioning look was plastered on his face and April was quick to answer.

"This is my parents room when we lived here. I made sure to lock it up when we were staying here last time...I just didn't...want anyone to see it. Even myself."

Raphael's face fell a bit.

"But now, I think I'm okay. I just - ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to take a bath in this tub in their bathroom." she explained as she walked through the room and made it to an adjoining door. Opening it slowly, a beautiful lush bathroom revealed itself. The style old-fashioned, light beige decor surrounding them and in stark contrast was a huge, alabaster white claw footed tub stationed in the center of the room.

"There's no shower?" he grumbled.

"No, I said we're bathing."

"April, I'm sorry, but there's way in hell we're both fittin' in there."

"There's plenty of room. Now, come on." she groaned, grabbing one of his thick fingers and began pulling him toward the tub and plugged the drain before filling it with water.

Raphael stood around awkwardly, as great as it was to shower with April, bathing was nothing he liked. It always reminded him of Leonardo during his coma. Just laying in that bath for months on end not moving...Ever since it just always really bothered him...

Yet, his eyes moved to April, the redhead still stood around completely naked and he for one, was not complaining. She should just be naked all the time - only around him of course, but still, it was a great thought to have.

April was happy; completely oblivious to Raphael's inner musings. Humming as she reached to a shelf she must have stocked earlier, filling it with non-atrocious smelling bath supplies for a change, and for that, he was grateful.

Especially since the strawberry scented bath wash instance...

"You're awfully quiet. Is everything okay?" April asked, moving back toward the quarter-full bath and pouring in some liquid soap that filled the steamy bathroom with the glorious scent of fresh laundry with a hint of mountain pine.

"...it just kinda reminds me of the first time we were here." he replied, April's face falling momentarily when she fully understood what he was talking about.

"Leo..." she said and Raph just nodded, his eyes never straying from the large tub.

"I'm sorry, Raphael, I should have realized... I..."

"'S okay. Just, ya know..." he said with a shrug, hating how almost losing Leo still adversely affected him after nearly two years.

"Believe me, I know..." she replied and those moments from nearly two years ago hit them both at once.

So many weeks and months Raphael spent constantly by the unresponsive Leonardo's side and April having to see Leo in that condition but also watching how it effected Raphael as well. During that time, she was terrified that if Leo didn't make it, Raph probably would have died soon after. He wasn't eating, hardly slept, and was just a constant bundle of nervous energy that was bound to short out. Growing weaker and weaker every passing second that ticked by; it broke her to see how it effected him and as much as Leo and Raph bickered, the love between the brothers was undeniable. It terrified her knowing she could lose them both right when she was on the cusp of admitting she was in love with one of them...

How, if Leo never woke up how different things may have turned out for all of them...the very indication filling her eyes with tears.

All too soon, Raphael's arms were around her and pulling her into his cool skin where they remained as the room filled with comforting smelling steam. No words continued to be spoken as Raph moved to pull away just enough for his eyes to meet hers and he gave her a genuine smile.

April was quick to return it, leaning in for a quick kiss before they decided there was no time like the present.

* * *

"I think you should go in first. It'd be easier for me to scoot in around you." April informed, lightly swirling the warm water with her hand to make sure the heat was evenly distributed.

"You callin' me fat, O'Neil?"

"You're stocky, not fat. There's a difference."

"Like hell!"

"Oh, stop it, Raph. Just get in, please."

The scowl didn't have its intended effect as he finally obeyed, lifting up his leg and slowly lowering himself into the tub, surprised as anyone when his shell actually fit within it's porcelain walls. He didn't say anything about it, just pulled his legs up and rested his arms atop of them.

"See? I told you." April sing-songed as she moved to get in after he appeared as comfortable as a constipated porcupine. April fit in much easier; lithe and quick, she maneuvered herself into the warm bath and mirrored his position as she sat across from him.

The two sat there for a few undisclosed minutes, Raphael internally and externally steaming. This was not how he pictured him and April's bath going - hell, if they were in the shower, they would probably having amazing standing up sex right about now. But no...take a bath she said...it'll be fun she said...

"Is this supposed to be sexy? Because I can't feel my ass..." he grumbled after a nearly five minute silence; face contorted in-between a pout and scowl as he stared at his pretty girlfriend sitting across him seemingly without a care in the world.

"Oh really? I wasn't aware you had one." she jeered, poking where his inner thigh connected to his shell with her big toe which only made him yelp. "Nope. No ass there." she continued with a laugh and if anything, his scowl only deepened.

"That's it. I'm out." Raph grumbled, staring to rise from the tub when April lunged for him.

"Dammit, Raph, just stay..."

"Why should I? All yer doin' is making fun of me."

"What? For your lack of an ass? Raph. Seriously?"

"Ain't just you! Leo always makin' fun of my height, Don havin' a fuckin' field day when he mocks my intelligence, and damn Mikey telling me to stop being grouchy all the time when he's the main instigator most of the fuckin' time! It's just..."

"Raphael...sweetheart..." April spoke, her voice so incredibly sad when it dawned on him just what he said out loud.

Slowly sitting back down on the hard porcelain, he stared at the water barely above his waist, his distorted reflection in the ripples staring back at him.

"Sorry..." he muttered into his reflection even if he wasn't sure what he was sorry for.

"You don't have to be sorry. I am. Raph, I...I didn't mean anything by it, I-"

"April, just..."

"I wasn't making of you, Raphael. I would never do that intending to hurt you." April spoke seriously, reaching out to run a hand over his cheek. "I was just teasing. You do it to me all the time..."

"I know...it's just...I dunno, this is bringin' back a lot for me."

"Being back here?"

"Yeah... I dunno, as happy as I was to be at the place we got together, there was still a lot of bad things that happened here too." he spoke and April had to admit it was true. Whether the thing with her mom, Leo's coma, all the mutants they ran into ranging from Big Foot, the vine monster turning Raph into a flower, or all the ginormous frogs destroying the house. It was a mixed-bag to say the least.

April looked at him for a long time; his finger circling in the water absentmindedly and damn, did he just look sad. She didn't want him to have bad memories of this and she was determined to change his mind about all of this.

"Oh, love...come here." she said, pushing herself forward til she was in front of him, her body coming to rest between his legs. April quickly let him know what she wanted. Her arms draping over his shoulders; mouth moving to brush over his neck and clavicle; pink tongue darting out to taste his skin.

"Ya know...baths can be sexy too." she breathed in his ear, loving how his body tensed and shivered slightly under hers.

"Oh, really? How ya figure?"

"...how long did you say you can hold your breath again?" she asked while pulling away to rest her back upon the tub. Once comfortable, she languidly parted her legs to rest over the edges of the porcelain where drips of water fell from her heels; her sex beckoning to him from underneath the surface of water.

"Aw, fuck..." he grumbled and April couldn't help but bite her lip at the sound of that word said in his sexy gruff voice.

"Your welcome to as long as you do something for me first... I am the birthday girl after all..." she whispered as seductively as possible; one of her hands disappearing underneath the water to rub at her throbbing cunt.

April almost busted out laughing as Raphael instantaneously disappeared under the water; his convex shell all that remained above it. Her thoughts of laughter completely dissipating when his hand brushed hers away from her pussy and his mouth took over what her hand was previously starting.

Raphael was all too eager; seeking out the warmth radiating from the apex of her thighs. Her hand was rubbing soft circles on her already swelling clit as he quickly brushed it aside. Experimentally, he ran his snout over her folds and immediately felt her tense. The sensation of her rampant eagerness only excited him as he moved his mouth over her smooth mound. The feather soft skin surrounding her slit was put to shame by the smoothness of her folds, the slick smooth lips he couldn't help but kiss. His hands moved to her hips, one to keep her steady, the other he moved to begin playing with her clit as he lost himself in pleasing her.

A cross between a whimper and a moan left her parted lips; her head fell back upon the cool edge, her body clenching at the sensation of rapturous pleasure he began bestowing upon her. Lips enveloping her folds; tongue dipping into her nether lips and thick thumb rubbing eagerly at her swollen clit. His mouth working its magic and April could do little more than mewl at his ministrations, her vagina clenching eagerly at what was still yet to come. The splashing of the water around her convulsing body and lapping of the ripples upon the porcelain as well as her unheeded moans the only noise in the steamy bathroom.

Raphael lapped lovingly at her warm folds; even under the water, the slippery wetness of her arousal was evident against his mouth. Breathing didn't seem important to him at all at this point as he worked towards bringing her to the cusp of ultimate pleasure. His thumb quickened; flicking over her clit as he pushed his tongue into her tight coil. Continually fucking her with his wet muscle as his lips suckled her folds with reckless abandon.

Within minutes, it was all too much for her.

She came hard.

Hands grabbing the sides of the porcelain in an iron grip as a loud shuttering mewling noise echoed into the ceiling. Her vagina tightened around his tongue that still ventured into her opening; languidly thrusting in and out as her walls shuttered around it. Overly sensitive clit pulsating against his thumb; it was the most wonderful kind of torture. All too soon, his tongue exited but his lips still moved. Turning his head a bit, he lovingly kissed her folds as he would her mouth. The tenderness in which he pleased her had her body and mind begging for more.

"Raph, please..." she whimpered, hands reaching underneath the water to touch him.

Raphael arose from underneath the surface at her prodding and she pulled him to her. Arms wrapping over his shoulders; mouth firmly pressed upon his and Raph was all too eager to return her affection. April groaned into his wet mouth, tongues battling for dominance as she enjoyed his muscular rock-hard, slick physique that felt _so_ good on hers. Cool, smooth scales upon her heated skin; the friction of his body all became too much for the redhead. Adjusting her legs, she moved them around his waist and pulled him even closer to her body where his lower plastron brushed her pubis.

"I need you...inside me...Please..." she muttered and begged unheeded into his ear-hole; arms and legs tightening around him.

Raphael had descended when he was going down on her and hearing her beg only made him more eager to please her. Cock throbbing and rock hard, he was beckoned to the same heat between her legs his mouth had recently vacated. Instead of immediately thrusting inside of her like he wanted to, his hand moved to her cunt, fingers lightly probing to make sure she was completely ready first before he ravaged her.

April whimpered greedily in his ear as he pressed his thick index deep inside of her; her pulsating wet coil around his finger had him biting his lip from exhilaration of knowing his penis was soon to be replacing it.

"Please..." she moaned again as he started fucking her with the thick digit, his finger curling a bit to rub at her g-spot.

Raph verbally churred at the desperation contained in her voice and in one-fell swoop, he moved. His finger withdrawing to pull her hips up slightly, allowing them to fully rest upon his folded knees as if sitting upon his lap. Once she was comfortable, he ran his thumb over her slit, caressing her hooded nub atop of it before he guided the tip of his penis to brush along those impossibly smooth folds.

April moaned softly at his ministrations, her hands rubbing tender strokes along thickly muscled shoulders and moving to cup his face. Incredible green eyes met her blue and if anything, her heart pounded faster at the lust contained in those eyes. The emotions battling within him; pure animalistic lust she was certain were in her own as well. Not being able to fight against the sudden passion for her boyfriend, she pulled his face toward hers, slamming their mouths together to taste him, pushing her tongue into his hot wide cavern.

Lips still caressing, tongues slipping and gliding over another, Raphael aligned himself with her entrance before a slight thrust of his hips had him pushing smoothly inside her wet tender, sheath.

"Oh!" she mewled in surprise. Blue eyes opening in pleasure as her fingernails began digging into thick corded muscles when he pushed inside of her; penis stretching her vagina to its limit. April was aware of every movement he made, his slick, rock-hard cock rubbing and gliding along her ribbed walls had her groaning loudly in pleasure.

"Oh, yes..." she moaned after a few thrusts, head falling back where Raphael's mouth began suckling on her exposed throat.

It only intensified as one of his hands left her hips to grab at her loose hair, pulling her head even further back to gently bite at the sides of her neck. April closed her eyes, widening her legs and giving him enough leverage to pillage her even deeper; harder.

The splashing of the water and it dripping on the floor was paid no heed as he increased the speed and power behind his thrusts. Going deeper, harder, faster just as she asked in her needy and desperate voice begged into the ceiling. Raphael growled in her ear, his hand leaving her hair to grab at her ass, keeping her steady as he adjusted her to lay back keeping certain to keep her head above water.

April was so desperate at this point, she reached under her to pull the plug, the water draining quietly as Raphael laid her down in the inch deep water, hiked her legs up over his shoulders and began pounding into her. The porcelain of the tub and remaining water squeaked and splashed at the friction of their bodies moving wildly but neither cared as he fucked her into oblivion.

"YESSSSS!" she screamed, head thrown back and hands clenched on the sides of the tub as a brush of his plastron plates across her clit gave her an incredible orgasm.

"That's it. That feel good, baby? he growled into her sternum as his thrusts slowed. Allowing him time to press his face between her breasts while moving her legs to encircle his hips so he could lay more atop of her.

"Mm-hmm..." she moaned back, arms searching out his heat and body that was so much closer now. She wasted no time in pulling him further atop her, his weight pleasant as he kept the majority off of her. Arms draped about his shoulders and lips caressing his throat, she held him as he continually moved inside of her.

Raph groaned a bit into her loose wet hair, loving how she tightened around him during and after orgasm but it also made it hard to drag it out. It just felt so fucking good...her moist, ribbed walls caressing him like a warm hug; pulling him even deeper into her. He swore nothing could ever feel as good as this...

"Why'd you slow down?" she breathed, tongue flicking out to taste his skin.

"Heh. Wanna make this last a little longer if that's alright with you..." he chuckled, giving her an especially hard thrust that had her gasping.

April just moaned nonsensically in response, reaching over to grab the edge of his shell for leverage when he began moving freely again.

His penis nearly exiting before slamming back into her body; the wet slap of his hips meeting her ass only punctuated by the splash of water hitting the edges of the tub. The two lost in their urges as he fucked her repeatedly; going as fast and hard as she asked him to. All too soon, her ankles ended up upon his wide shoulders as he pillaged her willing body; one hand on her hip holding her still, the other furiously flicking her clit and bringing her to another intense orgasm.

As she came down from her high, she couldn't help but look up at him; hands lovingly caressing his plastron and brushing over the top of his continuously thrusting penis. "Oh, baby..." she muttered, gasping every time he pushed in deeper. April gasped, touching where he was entering her, the sight he had must have been spectacular and the sensation of it bringing her to the cusp all over again.

"Yes, yes..." April moaned, nails digging into his forearm she was able to grab. "Cum for me, baby..." she moaned in the midst of orgasm and that was it for him.

As her vagina pulsated and tightened further around him, he came, continually thrusting as his semen erupted from the tip of his penis. He leaned over as it overtook him; churring into the water by her head, the bubbles tickling her ear as he still continued to fuck her long after he came. His softening penis still moving inside of her until he was nearly flaccid, the organ slipping back into his shell when he came to rest atop of her.

April smiled, cradling the back of his head as he buried his face in her breasts, nuzzling and licking them in languid wet strokes of his rough tongue.

"So...you like baths now?" she asked.

All she received in response was a very satisfied moan.


	37. Crime and Punishment (NSFW)

**Afterglow - Chapter 37**

 **Rated: M**

 **Crime and Punishment**

 _Chapter Summary: April steals Raphael_ _'s mask...for this she must be punished... Heed the rating._

* * *

After their bath and impromptu fuck session in the tub, Raphael or April really weren't in the mood to do much of anything.

They bathe, dried off and essentially plopped in front of the television (which was basically her laptop and internet hook-up she'd begged Donnie for) and watched a bit of mindless YouTube for the rest of the afternoon.

Around 8pm, the couple decided to make breakfast for a late-dinner once their stomachs got loud enough to be annoying. Raph make pancakes and April did pretty much everything else. They ate, decided to watch a few movies on Netflix before the two passed out their respective sides of the couch well after 2am.

Ten hours later, Raphael woke up to a sore shell, stiff neck, and aching legs.

His first conscious thought was realizing April wasn't beside him but it was to be expected when he noticed the time. Begrudgingly accepting he needed to start the day, Raphael lifted his heavy ass off the protesting springs of the couch and into the kitchen. He splashed some cool water on his face in an attempt to further wake himself up; drying off his face as he reached for where he'd left his mask near the open window...

...but it wasn't there.

Now awake with a start, Raphael stared at the place he last left his mask. Thinking it may have fell, he began checking the kitchen floor before leaning out the window to the grass below.

Yet, there was nothing.

For long moments, he searched the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom they vacated, but he couldn't find it anywhere!

Quickly growing frustrated with his fruitless search, the terrapin re-checked the kitchen for the umpteenth time. As before, it wasn't there and feeling rather peeved at this development, he began making his way upstairs to find April. Perhaps she'd seen it around.

Raphael walked toward their shared bedroom. The door was closed for some reason and while a bit strange, he ignored it; instead, he turned the handle and began walking into the room while speaking.

"Hey, April, have you seen my..."

The terrapin froze in place upon the sight.

"..mask?" he gulped thickly, face burning and body almost instantaneously reacting to the sight of her.

April was reclining upon the bed; legs up and spread open, hands further splaying her thighs and revealing her sex in all its pink, wet glory. So distracted by the sight between her legs that beckoned to him, he hardly cared to notice his tattered red mask loosely tied around her neck.

"You want it? Come and get it." April replied seductively; opening her legs even wider.

Raphael swore he never moved faster. Leaping toward the bed and towering over her for only a second before he laid atop of her; mouth pressing and tongue delving to taste her lips.

April groaned at his weight at first but quickly adjusted, parting her legs for him to rest comfortably atop her form. Tongues flicking and playing in each others mouths, her hands moved to cup his head; the curve of his dome cupped by her dainty hands. Losing themselves in hot breaths, warm wet tongues and tender brushes of lips.

Moments later, he pulled away with a loud pop; a string of saliva still connecting their mouths.

It was only now that he noticed the flash of bright red drawing his attention to the top of her bare, heaving breasts.

His mask.

A smirk flashed over his lips before he met her eyes.

"You had it this whole time?" he asked, his breath over her face had a pleasant chill echoing down her spine.

"...maybe..." she teased, her hands massaging the sensitive skin where his skin met shell.

"So, you stole it?" he asked, leaning down to lap at her breasts.

"Mmm...maybe..." she groaned, legs wrapping tighter around his waist.

"That wasn't very nice, O'Neil... Do you have any idea how long I was looking for it?"

"Nope."

"Hmm...I think I may have to punish you for this insolence..." he breathed, lightly biting one of her pebbled nipples.

"Oh!" she jumped slightly from his actions, "...how are you gonna do that?"

Lifting his eyes to meet hers, April felt a shiver go up her spine at the barely contained lust showcased in those gorgeous chartreuse eyes.

Raphael didn't speak. All she received for an answer was a devious smirk.

All at once; he moved.

Massive hands cupping her hips, he pulled her to stand and while her legs were a bit wobbly, she obeyed. Raphael was a bit rough as he went back to lapping at her breasts; wide tongue and lips eagerly suckling at her sweet tits. One hand leaving her hip to cup her mound; index delving into her wet folds and parting them to experience the warmth radiating from her opening.

April could do little more than moan unabashedly at his actions; her head and arms resting about his shoulders as he touched her anywhere his hands could reach. Squeezing her ass; rubbing her cunt as his mouth worshiped her heaving breasts. He was driving her crazy in the best way; thick finger teasing her opening, thick index barely caressing the ringed opening of her vagina before cruelly pulling away; skirting around her clit and not giving her the pleasure she so desired...so badly needed...

"Raph, _please_..." she her teeth into the base of his neck as her clenched fists held on to his carapace. Legs wobbling underneath her as she begged him for relief.

"I don't think so...I still have to teach you a lesson about stealin', O'Neil." he chuckled, pulling away from her a bit, his hands retreating with him much to her increasing disappointment.

April was silent as his hands moved to her neck, untying the mask and placing it over her face and tying it where he would normally wear it. She was just as surprised as anyone when the eye-holes actually worked for her.

"Whataya doing?" April mumbled into his throat.

"You'll see, you bad girl..." he muttered with wiggling eyebrow ridges before he moved to sit down.

April's questioning look was answered when he grabbed for her; pulling her to lay on her belly and positioning her across his lap.

"Oh!" she exclaimed for the second she was down, his hand disappeared between her thighs, rubbing at her cunt in smooth strokes, finally moving along her throbbing clit in small spastic circles. "Yes, Raph..." she moaned, closing her eyes and further splaying her legs for him as she relaxed into his ministrations.

Little did he know when his hand pulled away that it would be to slap her pert ass.

"OH!" she shrilled, jumping up at the sudden sharp pain along her rear. "What the hell, Raph?" April continued a bit angrily; hating how good it kinda felt...

"I already told ya. You stole my mask, therefore, you need to be punished."

"So, you're gonna spank me?" she asked, her calm voice turning to a moan when his hand moved to the apex of her thighs and eagerly rubbed at her wet folds.

"You shouldn't have stolen my mask..." he said before retrieving his hand from between her legs.

April's sharp cries punctuating the room as he slapped her ass yet again.

Raph groaned, her firm cinnamon-freckled ass growing a red tinge under his hand. The warmth from her reddening skin and a sudden desperate craving to be inside of her heat was making it difficult to keep himself hidden inside his shell. After a few more slaps varying in firmness had her cries turning into desperate moans...

April was starting to like it...a lot.

If her declarations weren't enough evidence, when his hand went to rub between her legs again, the increasing wetness leaking from her vagina gave him all the information he needed.

"Fuck, you're getting wet. You like it, huh?"

April just moaned in response as he moved to spank her ass again, the skin radiating heat on his hand as he caressed those firm cheeks. After a few more hard spanks, he spoke again.

"You think you learned your lesson?"

"Mm-hmm..." she moaned, gyrating her hips as his hand caressed her pussy.

"Oh, you really think so?" he asked, lowering his upper body to kiss along her back and shoulder-blades; the ends of her hair tickling his snout.

"Yes, Raphael..."

"I don't think so. I'll be the judge of that, O'Neil." he chuckled, roughly grabbing one of her ass cheeks in his hands causing her to cry out in pleasure.

"Oh, yes..." she whimpered, pushing her ass further into his massive hand.

"Dirty little thief..." Raph growled, slapping her ass yet again before he couldn't help himself. Moving his hand between her legs and touching the amazing wetness he found there. "Fuck..." he groaned, finally pushing a thick digit inside her aching vagina.

"Oh, please, Raph! Fuck me, baby..." she begged, hands fisting into the comforter below them.

Hearing her unheeded cries, he couldn't help but descend. His slick penis brushing along her stomach. The sensation of it on her skin only made her groan and beg for him more.

"Oh, I _need_ you, I **need** you..." she continually begged, her voice getting muffled by the bedding underneath.

Raph groaned at the sheer desperation in her voice; his finger freely plunging into her wetness, curling downward to brush at her g-spot all while she wiggled on his lap. His ministrations driving her insane in the best way as she moaned and mumbled in an attempt for more relief; his thick finger brushing along her ribbed walls. Yet, it wasn't enough; his finger, while as long and thick as a decent human sized-penis, was simply not big enough to satisfy her anymore.

"Oh, gawd, Raph... **Please!** _Fuck me..._ " she whimpered unheeded into the comforter; the neediness lacing her voice had him chuckling.

"I dunno, O'Neil. I'm not sure if you learned your lesson."

"I have! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't steal your mask again!" she groaned, hating saying the " _s_ " word, but if it would appease her desperate sexual urges, she supposed she could let it slide just this once.

"Hmm... Well see about that." he hummed before his finger exited her with a pop; causing her to mumble in disappointment. "Stand up." he ordered, gently pushing her off of him and she more than eagerly obeyed.

Once she was on her wobbling legs, he did the same and she bit her lip in anticipation of what his next move was. She didn't have to wait long for in seconds, he had grabbed her by the arm and turned her to face the opposite direction. His first move was to press his rock-hard dripping erection in-between her tender ass cheeks; the head of it poking into her spine.

"Oh!" she cried, her slightly swelling and sensitive skin tensing in the sudden appearance of his dick.

"How bad do you want it?" he growled into her nape; his teeth dragging pleasantly over her spine and shoulders.

"So bad..." she answered breathlessly, hoping he'd take the hint and just fuck her already.

Yet, his cruel torture didn't stop there; thrusting his hips slightly for his penis to slide between her ass cheeks very erotically before he maneuvered himself to rest between the apex of her thighs. His dick running along her cunt and ghosting her throbbing clit with its slick surface. The iota of satisfaction it caused was outweighed by how tortuously teasing it was.

"I wanna hear you beg." he growled and April almost came with the grittiness of that voice in her ear.

" **PLEASE**!" she screamed, thrusting her hips back to slap her ass on his plastron and hopefully cause his penis to brush harder on her clit.

"Heh. You drive a hard bargain, O'Neil." Raph whispered before she finally was appeased.

Raphael lowered slightly to where the bulbous head of his penis probed her opening.

Moving his free hand in front of her to slide between her legs, he maneuvered the thick head of his dick to guide himself into her. He teased her a bit with barely one-inch entrance thrusts before he finally slid in to the hilt; finally burying himself into her tight warmth.

April thrilled in complete satisfaction; the fullness of him finally inside of her nearly causing her legs to buckle underneath her. Knowing nothing but the pleasure he was giving her. His hands grasping at her arms allowing her to lean forward and present herself more to him; giving more leverage for more intense thrusts. The change in position was immediate; the sheer intensity increasing tenfold.

Raphael pounded into her from behind; his hips slapping into her ass over and over again. Watching himself disappear into her repeatedly only causing him to move faster and harder. Ultimately losing himself in her body and getting to see the slight jiggle of her pert, reddened ass with every thrust was just a bonus.

April squeaked when he gave her an especially hard fuck; hips slamming into her tender ass. It only signified the beginning of pleasure he gave her. The sensation of his thick, hard cock sliding against her moist ribbed walls; vagina pulsated around him, drawing him even deeper into her warmth as he continually fucked her in languid, long, deep strokes.

"This'll teach ya to stop stealin' my mask, you dirty little thief..." he growled, smiling down at her to take the bait of the dirty talk they started. The redhead dramatically moaning every time he pistoned into her willing body a bit distracting in his lust-clouded mind.

"Oh, YES!" April happily played along, "Ooh...yeahhh...Mmm...Raphael...I'm certainly learning my lesson..." she continued in a deep guttural moan; blue eyes rolling back at the sheer pleasure of her boyfriend's relentless pounding. The slap of his hips repeatedly hitting her red tender ass only made her wetter and tighter around his continually thrusting penis.

It was a few moments later when April's legs finally began collapsing underneath the indescribable intensity and longevity of their lovemaking.

Not wanting to be deterred, Raphael held her hips and moved her to lay on the bed without ever exiting her. April happily plopped onto her belly, whimpering in pleasure as he continued to move inside of her. Eyes closing, she melted into the covers; focusing on the feeling of his penis moving so deep inside of her sheath. The sensation of his movements causing sharp sparks of pleasure to run up and down her spine.

"Oh, April..." Raph grumbled, leaning forward to rub his mouth and snout along her smooth back; deep, choppy breaths splaying the ends of her hair.

"Raph..." April mumbled into the covers, whimpering breathlessly as his hand moved underneath her belly to the apex of her thighs in order to stroke her neglected clit. The immediate pleasure began pooling in her stomach with his finger's frantic back and forth movements. Within seconds, white lights went off behind her lids and she let out a desperate lengthy groan as she came hard.

Vagina pulsating around his cock and his hips pressed so firmly into her reddened, hot ass, he came inside her for what felt like a brief eternity. His body shaking and convulsing as he emptied himself into her womb and he couldn't help but churr when she suddenly came once more. Tender penis in a hopeless vice-grip as a shrill cry left her throat in what sounded like a distorted version of his name.

Raphael's legs wobbled a bit as his penis finally softened and retreated back into the confines of his shell. Nothing connecting them anymore, Raph felt a slight chill and lowered himself to lay lightly upon her. The majority of his weight on his arms to not crush her as he began kissing her back; the salty taste of her sweat didn't deter him in the least. The terrapin was far too deep into his cravings of her warmth and body to care.

April moaned at his affections, turning her body so she could lay on her back and Raphael let her. April moved to lay across toward the head of the bed and eagerly brought him with her. All too soon, they lay facing each other, hands eagerly stroking one another as they relaxed in the afterglow of their intense love-making session.

Raphael was the first to speak.

"So... What brought that on, O'Neil?"

"What do you mean?" April asked a bit confused, her hands stroking along his sharp cheekbone.

"Well, it ain't a normal occurrence to find you stark naked with your legs wide open." he chuckled, "Not that I'm complain' mind you. I'm just curious." he was sure to explain, touching the worn fabric of his mask still tied on her face.

April closed her eyes upon his hand's movements; sighing as he touched her so gently and tenderly. "As long as we're on the subject, I could ask the same about you spanking me." she joked, maneuvering herself closer to his chest; her head resting on his shoulder.

"Touche'." he chuckled. "I think I may have overstepped my punishments, cause you look really good in it." he continued, further fingering the mask on her face.

"As fun as stealing it was, I think I like it on you better." April admitted; untying it from her face but instead of placing it back on him, she just moved it to the nightstand. "In fact, I like this the best." she said, touching his bare face with a barely concealed blush.

Raphael smiled; pushing his mouth over hers in a tender kiss.

April happily returned it; deepening their mouth's connection by cupping his naked face.

"Does this mean you learned your lesson about stealing?" he breathed into her lips when they finally had to part for air.

"I dunno. I think we're looking at a crime spree here."

"Oh really?" he chuckled; his deep voice causing a jolt of pleasure down her spine.

"Mm-hmm...Now that I know the punishment, I may have to do something bad more often." she breathed; lips caressing his cheeks and snout.

"We'll see about that." he groaned. Her soft kisses lulling him into a false sense of security before she finally made a break for it.

In the blink of an eye, April pulled away; grabbing his mask from the nightstand and running out of the room.

Raphael happily gave chase.


	38. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow (NSFW)

**Afterglow - Chapter 38**

 **Rated: M  
**

 **Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow**

 _Chapter Summary: Like all good things, it must come to an end._

* * *

 **So sorry about lack of updates! -_- Life has been crazy hectic but is finally getting a bit more manageable. Hopefully that** **'ll make it easier to find time to write.**

 **Oh, and hope you enjoy the smut in this because sadly, it** **'ll be the last time for awhile. Hope these last couple chapters were enough for me to catch up on the story part for awhile lol.**

 **Enjoy, y'all! ;-)**

* * *

"Do we _really_ have to head back?"

"Yes, Raph. We're almost out of food and I'm almost out of money, so yes, we have to leave soon."

"Ya shoulda have told me! I have money back at the lair! We could've stayed at _least_ another two weeks!"

"We **can't** , Raph! Your brothers need the Shellraiser back and I really need to head back to schedule my classes for next semester. Besides, I miss my dad and I bet your miss Sensei and your brothers."

"Meh. Not really..." he grumbled with arms crossing over his chest.

"Raph, we're done having this discussion. Regardless if you miss your family or not, we have to leave."

His epic pout following her explanation had a smile inching up her face.

Raph just grumbled something nonsensical in response a moment later before his eyes left hers to look at the floor where he was nervously kicking at some invisible dirt.

April just rolled her eyes before packing the remainder of cooking items into the cardboard box.

A fair amount of time passed before the silence became too overwhelming and her blue eyes strayed to his pouty face. She hated seeing him so downtrodden even if it was fuckin' adorable when he did so.

"You know, you should really stop complaining because we're not leaving til tomorrow morning meaning you have a fairly decent chance to have sex tonight," the ray of hope that filled his eyes had her holding back a laugh, "Only if you're good, of course." she continually teased; sending him back a wink as she deposited some clean Tupperware back into a box.

"Heh. I'll show you good." he chuckled, nuzzling his nose on her nape, "I hope it's somewhere new though, cause I think we've already fucked on every surface of this house."

"Don't make it sound so vulgar," April huffed, "think of it instead that we made love on every surface of this cabin."

"Tomato, Tamato; same diff. The principle still applies. So, you thinking of a new place to bang or should we just go with the bed cuz I can't think of a new one."

Ignoring his use of vulgar terms for their lovemaking and answered in a sweet teasing voice, "You're not thinking of one place..." she said with a smile; leaning over and breathing into his ear.

"Oh really? …where?"

"Guess." she said with a wink.

"The stove?"

"No."

"...the toilet...?"

" _Yuck_!"

"The chicken coop?"

" **No**! The porch! You know, making love under the stars… Won't it be romantic?"

"It'll be fuckin' hot, I'll tell ya that much." he growled lowly as his arms wrapped around her waist and he buried his face into her neck. Teeth exposed and nipping into the pleasantly warm skin he found there.

"Not _now_ , though, Raph! We still have a bunch of packing to do!" April admonished and she had to stop from laughing when instead of arguing with her, he grabbed the box she was packing and began filling it with the necessary items without even much guidance. She happily watched him move about the kitchen and get everything squared away; even emptying the dishwasher and putting all the clean ceramic back in the cupboards to be used for next time.

"What's next?" he asked, eyes wide and dilated as he stared at her. Oh, the things he could accomplish when sex was on the line…

"Well, I'd love to vacuum and dust to make next time around easier, so how about I dust first than you follow with the vacuum? After that, I need to pack away the rest of our clothes, than wash and fold the excess linens. Speaking of which -"

"Ugh, all of that!? Are we ever gonna get done?! It's already 5!" he groaned and April bit her lip at how much he sounded like Mikey in that moment. It was rather endearing.

"We **are** , Raph, if we work together, okay? We should be done by 9 if all goes well."

" **9?!** "

"It'll be 10 and I'll be way to tired for sex at that point if you keep complaining."

In a flash, the terrapin was gone to retrieve the vacuum, and this time, April couldn't keep from laughing out loud.

* * *

Four hours later, the two had just finished packing up the rest of the freshly-washed linens into the closet, April's spare clothes sat waiting in her suitcase, kitchen and fridge clean, with all food disposed of, and there was not a speck of dust to be found. As April stood admiring their handiwork, her eyes strayed to Raphael who was laying a large plastic cover over the couch to keep off dust. Taking in his strong musculature and graceful stance toiled from a lifetime of training - it was a rather glorious thing to witness.

Something powerful ignited in her belly at the sight of him. Relishing in these last few hours they had here and already sad that they had to leave in the morning but she was adamant to enjoy the hell out of tonight.

Without giving any hint as to what she was up to, she moved in gracefully behind him and ran her thin fingers lovingly over his ridged carapace. The terrapin visibly shivering in regards to her languid touch. Chartreuse eyes flicked over to her form where she moved to his side and instantly nuzzled her face on his.

"Mmm..." April couldn't help herself, leaning further forward to kiss his mouth. Arms drawing over his shoulders as she intensified their liplock. Raphael all too eager to return her affections; growling in slight disappointment a few seconds later when she pulled away to speak, "Ooh… I'm going to miss doing that whenever I want..."

"I'm gonna miss doin' _this_ whenever I want." he mumbled before picking her up by the waist and making a bee-line for the front porch all while April just giggled into his ear.

….…

The summer air warm if a bit muggy was the perfect atmosphere as he sat her down on the porch swing. Her blue eyes catching the light leeching through the screen door a beautiful sight in the silver rays cascading from the full moon above.

Within seconds, he was sitting next to her; mouth eagerly pressing over her own. Wide, wet tongue begging for entrance which she immediately granted. The two were so lost in their own little world. Only taking notice of warm kisses and tender brushings of tongue; hands cascading over bodies, delving into silken hair and grasping at his rugged red mask tails.

"Oh, Raph…" she mumbled against his skin as he moved to kiss her neck; gingerly nipping her freckled skin with tender bites and licks.

"April," he breathed; hand moving over tender breasts before lowering to caress her covered groin.

"Oh." she shivered involuntary; firm, rough hand stroking her through her jean shorts causing her body to instantly react. Moaning and pushing harder against his confident movements.

"Heh. A bit eager, are we?"

"Mm-hmm…shut up…" she grumbled, quickly reaching down to unbutton and unzip the denim. Raphael just pulled her shirt up as she worked on removing her bottoms; satisfied with pulling her shirt and bra up just enough to expose her breasts.

Raphael wasted no time in eagerly suckling at her tits; nipples hard and pebbled as he licked and pulled at them with his lips. He continued his exploration until he heard her bottoms hit the floor with a whoosh and she kicked them to the side. Moving his head lower, he kissed her neck, collarbones, breasts, rib-cage and ran his face and mouth along her flat, soft stomach. Lifting his head for only a moment, he scooted off the swing and to the ground; kneeling in front of her before he gingerly pulled open her thighs to expose her soaked womanhood to him.

Swallowing thickly at how the porch light caught on her swollen clit and wet lips surrounding the dark opening of her vagina.

"Oh, _fuck_ …" he groaned, running an experimental finger over the well-lubricated area and was rewarded with a breathy moan of approval.

"Raph…" she groaned, placing her legs to rest over his thickly muscles shoulders. Breath deep and warm echoed over her pussy, the sensation of his mouth so close causing her legs to shake in anticipation. "Oh!" she groaned the instant his lips met her labia. Wide mouth pressing over the lubed area, tongue darting out to taste her wetness as his lips suckled eagerly at her clit.

April's fingernails dug into the wooden grain of the porch swing; her cries being lost to the star-speckled sky above as he ate her out. Hips gyrating of their own accord as he strove to bring her to ultimate pleasure. Gasping the second a thick index finger delved into her opening; walls constraining at the sudden intrusion.

"Oh, **Raph** …" she shrilled, back arching as his finger moved languidly in and out of her tight sheath. Lips and tongue still tortuously flicking and suckling at her labia and clit; the tingles of electricity coursing through her spine as a second finger joined in to fuck her tightness.

"Yes…" she breathed, belly warm and filling with the sensation caused only by an upcoming, intense orgasm.

Raph swallowed thickly as her legs tightened over his shoulders; her vagina tightening around his fingers. His body shaking as he pillaged her, penis long ago descended and crying for attention as his mouth hastily worked to bring her to orgasm. The hand that wasn't between her legs moved down to his penis and he began stroking himself to relieve the tension if only a little. Raphael was just desperate to bring her over the edge so he could finally begin fucking her with something aside his thick fingers.

Wish finally granted a few seconds later when April gasped, mouth open in a silent scream; back arched and breasts bouncing as she rode out an incredible orgasm. Raph groaned loudly; fingers still inside of her being placed in a vice grip as she came.

April gasped, whimpering rather pathetically as she came down from her intense high. Raphael finally removing his fingers from her sheath with a soft, wet pop. A invisible liquid ran out from her vagina and he eagerly leaned forward to taste it. She bit her lip to keep from crying out when his tongue was on her again; her sensitivity causing her to tingle with his ministrations.

"Raphael…" she breathed, her shaking hand lovingly brushing over the side of his face.

Green eyes met hers from where he was still at the apex of her thighs. Tongue still lovingly caressing her labia with languid strokes; the sandpaper sensation of the rigid muscle had her body tingling.

"Please…I need you…" she cried, eyes watering from the sheer intensity he was causing her right now. Fingers desperately grasping to the tattered ends of his mask as she tried pulling him up to her.

Raphael willingly followed her motions, still on his knees as their mouths closed the distance. The kiss was sloppy, wet, and so fucking perfect that she couldn't help but allow a few stray tears to leak out. Lost in tongues, breaths, and nips from teeth, she cried out when he finally pushed inside of her. Their bodies joined in the most fantastic and carnal nature, and oh God, did it feel good… Pulling away for a moment to look at him, she stared into his eyes; the sensitivity and love in them had her lips and body trembling like a leaf as she pressed their mouths together again.

April kissed him deeply, purposefully squeezing the muscles of her vagina tighter around his rock-hard penis as she did so. Smiling against his lips when he moaned unabashedly into her mouth. So tender were her fingers while playing with the edges of his mask and caressing the dome of his head; relishing the smoothness of his scales under her fingerprints.

Raphael groaned a bit when he broke the kiss; a strand of saliva still connecting their mouths as he began moving deeper inside of her. The activity of moving in her tight coil so overtly intense and incredible. Hips moving almost of their own accord; thrusting, pushing and pulling in and out of her wet tightness.

It felt _**so**_ fucking good.

Green eyes opened to stare at her face; her eyes tightly closed, mouth agape in unbelievable pleasure she didn't bother masking. The slight moans and whimpers that were escaping her lips with every movement he made had chills echoing up and down his shell. Sensing his own needs, he began to fuck her faster and harder; hips making a wet slapping noise as they met her ass over and over again.

April's hands somehow moved to his deltoids where her short nails began digging into his scaly skin. The slight pain it caused only vamped up the unbelievable pleasure to a whole new plane.

Raphael churred, running large hands over her smooth thighs and pinching her flesh slightly as he moved to grasp her hips. A sudden hard fuck had her gasping; dilated blue eyes snapping open and staring up at him through thick black eyelashes. Cheeks flushed; freckles in high contrast as she stared up at him. April smiled, biting her lip and waggling her brows as he gyrated his hips and circled inside of her.

"Oh, God, yes…" she moaned, hands brushing over his shoulders til they rested along his sharp cheekbones; tendering caressing before roughly pulling him down so their mouths met again.

Raph smiled into her mouth, hips not stopping in the least as he continued his movements inside of her. Tightness surrounding him as if wanting him to push even deeper inside of her. He bit back a rather embarrassing whimper as she moved her hips to meet his; their thrusts concentrated and forceful as he pillaged her warmth with smooth strokes and pushes.

He couldn't help but groan as she pushed her tongue in his mouth; her small wet muscle pushing inside of his wide mouth and flirtatiously playing with his large, leathery tongue. Hands still roaming over his face as she kissed him and kept pulling him closer to her warmth. Raph couldn't help but smile at the wantonness of her actions; allowing her to pull him close yet refusing to stop fucking her.

If anything, she only intensified his need to move faster and deeper inside of her; desperate to pillage her and bring her the greatest satisfaction possible. One of his hands left her hip and pressed upon the curve of her flat stomach; thumb moving to rub at her clit right above where they were connected.

"AH!" she moaned suddenly as she pulled away from his mouth. The sudden intensity of his fingers ministrations had her toes curling in pleasure within the confines of her boots. His thumb was brutally teasing; circling and flicking rapidly over the swollen pink bead until it all crashed around her. "RAPH!" she screamed unheeded into the night; body shaking as a sudden orgasm flushed throughout her entire system.

"That's right, baby…Come for me…" he grumbled into the flesh of her neck; lapping at her sweaty skin and nipping at her collarbones. Her sheath was tight around him enough to cause his own orgasm, but he fought against it; amendment to keep penetrating her until his stamina completely gave out. Using extra leverage from her limpness, he pulled her hips closer to his and began fucking her brains out. Roughly thrusting in and out of her tightness in rapid motions and quick flicks of his wide hips; he pillaged her warmth as hard and deep as her body could keep up with.

April just screamed out her pleasure, her body and clit sensitive as his plastron brushed over her throbbing clitoris in rapid succession. It was almost painful to come again but she did; the tip of his wide penis slamming into her g-spot caused an involuntary orgasm to rupture throughout her body and she gasped, mouth wide and scream silent as she came hard.

"Oh, yeah… **fuck** …" he growled, hands squeezing her wide hips tight in his grasp as his own accelerated further. Penetrating her deep and hard; tight coil pulsating around his plunging penis. "Yer so fuckin' _tight_ …" he praised in a churr, giving her an especially hard thrust much to her approval.

"Mmmm…" she moaned, hand slipping down to where they were connected to rub at her tender clit; blocking the sensitive bead from his plastron that was brushing it. Her nether lips and vagina were wet and slick with their combined juices as she relished in his motions and how he filled her and moved inside. Her sheath tightening around him and enjoying every single inch of him that penetrated her.

Raph chanced a glance down to where he entered her and smirked at her hand that began playing with herself. Making him even hotter to watch her smooth motions and thin fingers working her clit in quick swipes. Green eyes flicking to her pleasure-filled face; her plump bottom lip latched between white teeth, eyes sliding closed and cheeks flushed as he continually fucked her. Quickly moving a hand atop hers, he began assisting her movements; flicking his thumb over her clit and he loved how she moaned and whimpered at the sensation of his calloused fingers on her smooth slit.

"Don't think yer done cummin' tonight." he chuckled, raspy voice deep and smooth as velvet tickling her eardrums.

April replied with a desperate breathy moan; smooth legs widening to give him better access to fuck her even deeper.

Raphael smirked at her wanton desperation and took the opportunity to do as she asked. Hands moving again to her hips to hold her still, he fucked her harder and faster; slapping her ass with smooth stroked of his hips. Putting every ounce of energy into pleasing her and pillaging her as best as he could. Loving how she instantly tightened around him and she was close to coming once again.

Desperate to finish with her, he sped up; pushing deeper and harder until his tip brushed over her cervix and shallowly thrusting to keep most of his penis buried inside of her as he continually moved.

"Yes, yes, yes…" he growled lowly; body shaking and groin tightening at the intensity; her vagina tightening as her fingers quickened over her clit and her heady moans didn't go unnoticed. Pushing harder and faster, he leaned forward to kiss her. Relishing her greedy moans as she latched on to him; arms wrapping over his shoulders and legs wrapping over as much of his shell as possible. She was tight and so unbelievably close to orgasm that he sped up even faster. Desperation pulling at him to finish at the same time; so ready to finally fill her womb with his seed.

"Ooh…" he groaned lowly into her mouth, smoothly adjusting her hips so his plastron brushed over her clit before continuing his fevered thrusting.

That was enough for her.

"RAPHAEL!" she screamed, pulling away from his mouth as her entire body shook with the pleasure of another intense orgasm.

"Yes, April…" he shouted in unison, her vagina tightening around him bringing him over the edge. Large hands keeping her still as he pushed inside of her as deep as he could possibly go before he finished. Penis throbbing as his semen erupted forth to fill her.

"Ooh…" he continued a few seconds later, relishing her tightness and the sensitive tingles that trickled up and down his spine as he emptied himself inside of her; penis throbbing and shaking before he finally softened.

April's breath was ragged, body drenched in sweat when he finally pulled out of her. Combined juices leaking from her opening and dripping down her ass and landing upon the wooden grains of the porch swing. Breaths calming yet shallow, April looked up at Raphael who was staring at her; the fire in his eyes had her tremble in pleasure.

Before she even realized what happened, he moved; kneeling before her again before pushing forward and kissing her. Mouth wide and hot as he devoured her lips; biting and nipping at her sweet plump mouth. Tongue flicking out and tasting her essence; breathing and absorbing nothing but her.

April eagerly returned his affections, arms limp as they wrapped over his shoulders and just enjoying how he penetrated her mouth with his tongue; languid and playfully lapping it with her own. Loving how he tasted like rain and earth…clean, fresh and beautiful. His skin prickling her hers like goosebumps as she lovingly caressed his nape and cradled the back of his head. She cherished this moment; tasting and absorbing him. Enjoying every second his mouth moved over hers; how he tilted his head to deepen it even further. It had her toes curling in pleasure all over again; hairs rising on her body as she began craving him all over again.

Raphael was the first to pull away and April to fruitlessly chase his lips.

Green eyes boring into her own dilated blue, he smiled. Lips pulling into his characteristic smirk as he stared at her.

"I'm gonna fuckin' miss doing that whenever I want…" he chuckled and it sounded like he was getting choked up for a second.

April gave him a pursed lip smile and wanted desperately to tease him for getting so emotional but second guessed herself when she felt the trickle of tears still building in her own eyes.

"Me too." she decided instead before grabbing his mask tails and pulling his mouth to meet hers again.

Sure, it would suck going back home to the daily grind tomorrow, but it would make their next time all the more sweeter…


	39. Returning Home

**Afterglow - Chapter 39**

 **Rated: T**

 **Returning Home  
**

 _Chapter Summary: Raphael and April reluctantly return back home and back to the repetitive swing of things._

* * *

 **Wow. I knocked this chapter out within about an hour. I love it when the chapters just write themselves. ;-P Hope y'all enjoy even if it's a bit shorter than usual.**

* * *

Going home would have been one thing - hell, walking would have been one thing if her and Raphael had stopped after the first round on the porch…

… _but they didn't._

Another time on the swing, a few on the couch, once on the living room floor before finishing in the bed; covers tangling them together was where they finally passed out.

Raphael had been particularly, how would you say, " _enthusiastic_ " the last few times. Thrusting into her hard and fast like the speed of a jackhammer and the power of the Energizer bunny all at one time pounding into her body. Not to mention, her legs being splayed that wide for that length of time didn't have great effects on her poor thigh muscles…

It felt absolutely incredible at the time they were doing it, but the morning after, not so much.

April awoke to a dull ache in her nether region like she hadn't experienced since the morning after she lost her virginity and her legs sore as if she just went through a vigorous work-out. Internally cursing her boyfriend snoring beside her, she rolled over to try and fruitlessly catch some more Zs until she realized the time.

" **10:17"** said the blinking lights from the alarm clock to her left.

"Aw, _dammit_ …" the redhead muttered sleepily, moving her arm to sock Raphael in the shoulder probably harder than intended.

"Hrnnn. W-Wha?" Came the grouchy turtle's voice muffled by the pillow his face was partially buried in.

"We need to go. Traffic bad." April muttered in broken sentences, cursing the pain that grew more intense as the cloud of sleep began to wear off.

"...groghth…"

"Raph…" she grumbled at his tired voice and lack of a legitimate reply.

"What?" he asked at least partially awake.

"We need to go…" April whined, "the traffic is gonna suck going back into town if we don't."

"Mmm…do we _have_ to?"

April just growled something nonsensical in reply before reluctantly sitting up; hating how it stung quite a bit to do so. "Dammit…" she growled,clenching her legs together a bit until it dissipated.

"What's wrong?" Raph grumbled, his sleepy face turning toward her and one green eye open and peeking up at her.

"Nothing, you just went a little too hard and fast last night." she said, hiding the flush of red on her cheeks by reaching for her tank top and bra that somehow ended up tangled in the blankets.

A devilish smirk lifted the corners of his mouth as he wiggled his brow ridges at her turned back. "But that's how you like it. I didn't have much of a choice." he chuckled as his hand maneuvered over to her and began caressing her hip. She was quick to swat it away.

"Shut up."

"Hmm…a little grumpy are we?"

"No. That's your thing." April grumbled, throwing her legs off the edge of the bed to put on her underwear and leggings that were scattered nearby.

"Aw, c'mon, April." Raphael groaned, muscly arms reaching up in a stretch. He was careful to appreciate how her eyes flicked to the movement. "It was our last night, we had to make the most of it."

"I know, but I - **ouch**!" she replied, hating how it stung to high heaven with every step. " _Dammit_. Get me some Advil, will ya?"

"Only if you ask nicely." he singsonged as he dragged himself from underneath the covers.

" **Now** , Raphael. This is all your fault in the first place!"

"How? Yer the one who kept asking for it."

"Raph…" her voice took on a sinister tone.

"Alright, alright. _Sheesh_! Someone's in a bad mood; I guess I didn't get you off enough last night."

"You got me off _plenty_ , Raph… I'm just…ugh, never mind." April sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and trying to ward off a migraine.

"Yer just sad we have to leave, huh?" Raphael asked as he approached, two pills in hand and a small cup of water in the other.

April glanced up at him and just smiled; hating how he was nearly impossible to stay angry at.

"Yeah, that must be it - not the fact that my privates ache like hell..." she teased, grabbing the pills and water from him and swallowing them.

"I knew it." he said with a deep chuckle.

April froze when his hand brushed back her messy bangs to give her forehead a tender kiss. It was soft and sweet and he pulled away almost instantly to finish packing their bags. A smile tickled the edges of her lips as she watched him for a moment before helping him do the same.

* * *

An hour later, they finished packing up the ShellRaiser. April ran back inside to double check they weren't forgetting anything before turning off the water and generator until next time. Exiting Northampton for the last time, she locked the cabin behind her. Freezing for a second and smiling at the wooden grain that greeted her. She already couldn't wait to return to this place with her beloved Raphael…

"Ya gonna put yer ass in gear or not, O'Neil? Traffic! Remember?" Raph shouted from the driver's side of the ShellRaiser.

… _so much for those kind thoughts…_

"Keep your damn shell on! I'm coming!" She yelled back, not bothering to hide the anger lacing her voice.

"Ooh, replaying what you kept screamin' last night?" he asked in his normal smug tone as she pulled herself into the passenger seat and shut the door behind her.

April just gave him the stink eye and ignored how nice his deep reverberating laugh sounded by putting on her seat belt and refusing to give him the satisfaction of looking at him to see how her face flushed.

"Just shut up and drive." she muttered as she stared out the window.

"Don't you mean, _go faster_?" he chuckled, "OUCH!" he shrieked when she socked him in his bicep, which April admitted probably hurt her more than him but it was worth it.

"No. Just drive." she replied smugly, allowing a smirk to tickle her lips.

Raphael just chuckled at her behavior, starting the vehicle and pulling away from Northampton. Once on the main road, April couldn't help but look back into the rear-view mirror and watch as the cabin disappeared into the distance.

* * *

"RAPHIE! APRIL!" Michelangelo screeched happily, running toward the couple that approached the turnstiles.

Raphael jumped over the turnstiles; quickly blocking Mikey from April and taking the brunt of Mikey's affection with a bear hug.

"I missed you guys!" Mikey continued happily, swaying in a hug with his older brother.

"Heh. Missed ya too, Mike." Raphael chuckled, allowing Mikey to continue the hug in hopes he'd leave April, who was still in some pain, alone.

"Hello, you two. Have a nice time? Leonardo asked civilly as he walked over to the couple.

"Yeah, it was nice. What have you guys been up to?" April replied, smiling back a tinge of pain as she pushed herself through the turnstiles after Raphael and placed her duffel bag on the floor.

"Nothing much. Been pretty quiet." Leonardo answered, eyes flicking down her when he no doubt noticed the strange way she was walking. April was certain he wouldn't ask though…

"That's good." April shrugged, brushing her bangs behind her ear as Donatello approached the group.

"Hey, Raph. Hey, April!" Donnie greeted with a wave which April returned.

The redhead in question flinched a bit when Donnie approached her. Worried he'd want a hug, she moved back a bit to brace herself; hating when she stepped too fast and the pain was echoed across her expression. She could almost slap herself when she realized Donnie just moved her bag over a bit so it wouldn't be in the walkway.

"April. Are you okay?" Donnie asked and April inwardly cursed her actions.

"Y-Yeah! Of course I am!"

"You sure? You're walking strangely. Did something happen?" Donnie continued.

April glanced over to Raphael who was now staring at her and trying his damnedest not to smirk. _The bastard…_

"April?" Donnie asked again, arm reaching out to her and she pulled away.

"Huh? No! I'm fine, seriously!" April stammered, giving another step between them and she hid the pain convincingly this time.

Donnie's brow ridges furrowed at her answer but she just smiled at him and hoped he's just drop it.

 _He didn't._

"No, seriously, are you okay? You're limping, April."

"Oh no! Did you get hurt, April?" Mikey intervened and April swore her face turned the shade of a ripe tomato.

"N-No! I-I hit my shin on a table! That's all. It's no big deal!" she lied, careful to notice the Cheshire Cat smile that appeared on Raphael's face.

"It must be pretty bad if you're having trouble walking - want me to look at it?"

" **No!** " she shouted much louder than intended.

Raphael coughed to hide the laugh that escaped. Leonardo gave him a strange look which Raph shrugged off and cleared his throat.

Donnie flicked his eyes over her face for a sign of deception and was apparently satisfied with her answer. "Alright, April. If you're sure you are okay, I guess. If you change your mind -"

"I know, I know! Thanks, Don, but I'm okay!" April said, reaching over to pat Donnie's shoulder in hopes of calming the genius turtle's concerns.

"That's good! Hey, I made some pizza for lunch! Come on!" Mikey announced, dropping the conversation and heading to the kitchen without another word.

For this, April was grateful even if Donnie and Leo still were looking at her a bit strangely before following after the excited orange-banded brother.

Once they were out of hearing range, she sighed in barely suppressed anger when Raphael suddenly appeared at her side.

"Kicked the table, huh?" he chuckled, voice deep and way too sexy as it rattled near her ear.

"Shut up before I kick you too…" she grumbled and he just laughed louder.


	40. Weightless

**Afterglow - Chapter 40**

 **Rated: T**

 **Weightless**

 _Chapter Summary: April walks in on Raph lifting weights._

* * *

 **Knocked this out in a little over an hour. Glad I was able to get this done for y'all and thanks for your patience! xoxo**

* * *

April O'Neil walked closer to the lair; a big smile plastered on her face even if she was more or less exhausted.

It'd been a week since her and Raphael returned from Northampton and while difficult to get back into the swing of things, it was a nice change of pace. She had gotten scheduled for fall classes and was looking forward to a work study position she was offered.

All in all, life was definitely looking up.

April was only three years away from graduation, her father was super supportive, she had an amazing boyfriend and family. Life was good and now it was time to end this long day with getting to visit said boyfriend and family. It'd been at least three days since she saw any of them and it was about time she got some time in her schedule to make an impromptu visit.

"Hey Mike!" she announced as she went through the turnstiles to see the youngest enthralled with a video game.

"Hey April!" he shouted back dramatically, tongue sticking out in concentration as he swerved this way and that as if that would help his driving skills in the game. Ice Cream Kitty sat in a lunch cooler a few feet behind him meowing in greeting.

The redhead smiled as she approached them, careful to avoid the strewn blankets and empty soda cans. She smiled at the dairy feline and reached out to pat her head before looking over Mikey's shoulder to watch him play for a moment.

"If you're looking for Mr. Grouchy Shell, he's in the weight room." Mikey said a few seconds later without missing a beat.

"Hmm?" April asked with a chuckle, "Mr. Grouchy Shell? That's a new one."

"Meh. I think I'm losing my touch for naming things. Either that or I've already called him every name I could think of!" Mikey answered, his eyes flicking toward hers for only a second.

"Merow! Meow, Rawrrr!" Ice Cream Kitty rang in with a slosh of her body.

"Ooh! ' _Raph-nado_!' That's a **good** one, I.C.K.!" Mikey laughed loudly, his eyes closing too long and his character crashed into the wall and he lost his first place position.

" **NOOOO!** " he screamed dramatically along with the devastated mew of his cat. The controller went flying somewhere over her head to land on the couch and April rolled her eyes but chuckled at their antics nonetheless.

One thing was for sure - there was _never_ a dull moment in the Hamato household.

"Alright, Mike. I'll leave you to grieve." April said in her most serious voice she could muster.

"You don't **understand**!" he moaned into his arms. "I was _this_ close to the all-time record!" he reiterated as he turned to her with big teary blue eyes; fingers only millimeters apart to showcase to her just how close he'd been.

April gave him a patient smile and patted the top of his head. "I'm sure you'll get it next time, Mike."

"Meow, mew!" the cat supported her answer and April had a hard time not rolling her eyes at the hope that filled Mikey's baby blues.

"You're **right** , Ice Cream Kitty!" the youngest announced with his chest puffed out. "I **CAN** do it!"

"Meow!"

"I'm happy for you, both. Well, I'm gonna go see 'Raph-nado' now." April said with a badly hidden laugh; giving him a farewell wave which he didn't return as he was already lost in his game.

Along her way, she didn't head or shell of either Donnie or Leo but those thoughts fell to the wayside when she her first glimpse of Raphael.

April stopped at the doorway of their new weight room. It was adjacent to the dojo and was filled with random weights and training equipment. They'd moved even the punching bag and other items in here to try and make more space. Raph was pretty much the only one to use it.

Leo was more into just training with Splinter, Donnie always had other things to do, and Mikey avoided unnecessary training or exercise like the plague. So, all in all, Raphael had gained himself an extra room in the lair and so far, there were no complaints.

… _especially from her…_

At the doorway, she watched him for a long while. His body and mind honed to perfection as he smashed his fists over and over into the black punching bag that was littered with duct tape. Fists making a thud sound with every smack of his powerful punches. There was _nothing_ like seeing all those taut muscles at work; a light sheen of sweat and scales bristling as he used that perfectly honed weapon in training.

Lip bit tightly between her teeth and eyes never leaving him, she sauntered in the room further to see if he'd noticed her yet. Knowing his incredible sensory nerves and sense of smell, he probably did but she was still waiting for a greeting. Her heart was racing as she continually watched him; April's body reacting in the way you'd think it would by seeing his performance.

The power; his muscle tone, the _sounds_ he was making…it was making her as hot as hell…

"Enjoyin' the show?" he chuckled; his voice breaking her out of her rather impure thoughts. He peered over at her from his shoulder; thick lips lifted in his familiar smirk and his green eyes were as warm as a crackling fire.

Why did he have to be so damn attractive?

"...and if I am?" she teased, acting as coy as could be as she inched a little closer.

"Well, I can't blame ya." he replied in all his smug glory. Lifting his arms and flexing them proudly for her.

"Such a smug ass." she chuckled while trying her damnedest to keep her eyes off the bulging biceps. She failed miserably.

"Ain't hearin' you complain too much, O'Neil." Raphael continued before reaching for a barbell. "In fact, your body's saying otherwise."

April's face lit up at his accusation and cursed his sense of smell. Sure to give him a dirty look which he responded with a wiggle of his brow ridges. But instead of arguing or even trying to deny it, she just continued to enjoy the view.

Raphael picked up the barbell almost effortlessly, the heavy weights on other side clinking as he lifted and lowered them. The strain easy to see in his arms, face and the vein that was throbbing and pulsing visibly in his neck.

As if she could get any wetter at this point…

Swallowing back a lump, she made her way to a step-stool and sat down to continue watching. Her blue eyes fixated on every move; every bulge, stretch, and pull of muscle echoing underneath his emerald green skin. It was a beautiful sight but she was getting bored.

"How about you bench press me?" she asked suddenly and regretted it when Raphael almost dropped the weight on his foot.

The slam of the weights on concrete echoed loudly through the house.

" **Raphael!** " Splinter's disciplinary voice rung out from a distant room and Raphael visibly flinched.

"Sorry, Sensei! It was an accident!" he shouted back and when Splinter didn't reply, April was more or less surprised that the mutated rat believed him.

"Wait. What?" Raphael turned his attention toward her; his eyes a bit bulged and mouth agape as he asked the question.

"I said, why don't you bench press me?" she reiterated and he glanced down her body before meeting her eyes again.

"Why? You're too scrawny to give me any sorta workout."

"I mean, let me sit on the weights."

Raph's response was an opened mouth stare.

"Ugh." April sighed, walking over to the downed weight before sitting on the metal bar where the weights were attached to either side. "Like this. Just lift me up."

Raphael still seemed unconvinced, his eyes glancing at her before he peered at the weights than at the ceiling.

April couldn't take it much more.

"We gonna do this or not?" she asked, poking him in his plastron and he squeaked.

"Fine. Fine! But if you fall and break yer neck, I'll just say I told ya so." he replied gruffly, his hands moving on the other side of her hips.

In anticipation, April grasped at the bar to keep her balance as he slowly brought her up. Her stomach flipped at the sensation of losing gravity; hairs on her body tingling pleasantly as he brought the weights above his head. A giggle released from her lips as she bounced slightly on the bar wondering why she'd never asked him to do this before.

The redhead peered down at her terrapin boyfriend where he was peering up at her with the same smirk he wore earlier. She smiled back as he brought the weight down to his chest than back up again. April didn't bother holding back her laughter as he pushed her up back up even higher.

Arms locked and above his head, he let her get her bearings for a moment. April again peered down at him and her brows furrowed when he gave her a dirty grin and wiggling his brows; his vantage point a little too pleasing as he stared up at her ass.

"Pervert." she muttered and if she wasn't afraid of falling and breaking her neck, she would've reached down to smack that look off his face.

"Hey, you got to enjoy the merchandise, now it's my turn." he replied with a breathy chuckle that did _not_ make her heart skip a beat, "And let's not forget, this was all your idea."

"Fine. Enjoy it while you can." she muttered her consent, cheeks flushing as she brushed her fists along his hands. April felt the slightly tremble as he lifted her and lowered her again and again. Enjoying how sexy those sounds he kept making were; the thick breaths and rasps from strain had her stomach tightening further.

Raphael was slowly losing his mind; her feminine aroma kept tickling his nostrils and damn, he hated being a reptile in this moment. His inner hormones raging and April smelling so fucking good were really fogging up his mind. Seeing her ass so close in all it's pert rounded glory didn't make it any easier even if she was wearing clothes. They scarcely left anything up to imagination with this angle anyway.

It's been a whole week since they were last intimate and it felt like a lifetime already. He'd been rather short with his brothers all week and then April showing up all sexy and flirty didn't help no one. There was no way they could have sex yet she continued to tease him…

April suddenly giggled and Raph's groin area tightened painfully. Her breathy laugh, hair and breasts bouncing up and down, and don't get him started on the fact she was leaking pheromones like nothing else. Before long, his mind was so clouded he barely heard April warning him to slow down than to stop.

"RAPH!" she suddenly screamed and Raphael's hands laxed at the worst possible instance. Before he'd even realized it, he'd dropped the weight and April was airborne. The weight was gone and crashed to the floor with a resounding thud.

Luckily, Raphael immediately reached out and grabbed April from midair. She rested in his arms bridal style with wide blue eyes and gasping for air.

"Never do that again." she breathed.

"Agreed." he replied with a chuckle and for his sake, she thankfully returned.

Any relief that either might be feeling was completely gone when Splinter barreled through the doorway.

" **RAPHAEL!** " the ninjitsu master admonished.

"Uh, Sensei, I can explain." Raphael muttered in a panic.

The rat looked down, seeing the huge crack on the cement and Miss April in his son's arms. Without anything else to do, he sighed and buried his face in his hands not sure exactly how to deal with his hotheaded son much more.

… _he was getting_ _ **way**_ _too old for this shit…_


	41. Brave

**Afterglow - Chapter 41**

 **Rated: T**

 **Brave**

 _Chapter Summary: April asks Raph a question he really isn't prepared to answer._

* * *

 **Sorry about the lack of updating. I'm still trying to figure it out where I want this to go next. Just stick with me with some filler stuff til we get there, kay? xoxo**

* * *

Raphael took a deep breath; re-reading the last part of the boring magazine article to keep away the persistent sleep currently draining his system. He was adamant to stay awake; desperate to keep himself conscious enough for now even as the clock to his right read that it was well after 1am.

"Dammit." he muttered under his breath as he turned the page.

Perhaps lying down on his bed to read of all things was _not_ his brightest idea.

Raphael would have already been asleep already had it not been for one thing - it was one of the rare occasions April was here spending the night in the lair. But instead of being with him, she was busy helping Donnie with something or another. If he listened, it was probably something to do with anti-mutagen; but truthfully, he didn't comprehend barely anything when Don went off on another tangent to explain it in vast detail.

Helping Donnie on occasion was yet another agreement him and April made long ago.

Raph wasn't too crazy about it but allowed it nonetheless.

It didn't mean the more jealous side of him wasn't weighing in over and over again in his flitting subconscious - the one desperately itching to go physically grab her from the lab and drag her back to his room to cuddle and kiss until they fell asleep together, but he valiantly resisted the great temptation.

After all, he was **supposed** to be the supportive boyfriend.

The one who was not at all filled with his own self-conscious doubts, needlessly worrying about her leaving him for another. One who allowed her to spend time outside of their relationship either with his brothers or even other male humans such as Casey without worrying obsessively about it.

It still didn't make it easy though - didn't stop those nagging thoughts from burrowing deep into his shell and making him itch like crazy.

Nerves began silently taking over; foot began jittering around when he finally flung the magazine across the room where it hit the wall with a satisfying thwack before crumbling to the floor. A half-smile inched its way up his face before it disappeared just as fast.

… _Well, that didn't help one damn bit…_

"I'm not even gone three hours and you're already having a temper tantrum?" April's chiding voice rang out from his doorway and he instantly regretted laying this way. If he was the _other_ fucking way, he would have seen her approach - but no…

Lips pursed as he expected more sarcastic quips or poking more fun at him, but she was silent as he sat up to dangle his legs from the edge of his sheets.

"I-I thought I saw a bug." he lied - that typically was easier than admitting he was acting quite childish.

"Mm-hmm." she was not convinced. "If it was, you'd be screaming like a little girl and dancing on top of your bed until someone came in with a can of Raid to kill it."

Raph grumbled, face flushing as he gave her the dirtiest look he could muster.

It was hard when she smiled at him like that though. The barest hints of a smirk inching up her face; lazily leaning up against the doorway as her blue eyes sparkled.

 _Dammit, why did she have to be so fucking pretty?_

"Hey, I got over my fear, remember?" he quickly quipped, mouth settled in a near permanent pout it seemed.

"Not really." April shrugged. "You still flipped out when you saw that little cockroach in my apartment last week." April reminded him, leisurely hanging out by the door and looking around his room.

"Little!? That thing was fucking **huge**!" Raph complained; cheeks burning as she gave him that sly smirk.

"Didn't give you the right to throw your sai at it - and miss by the way."

"That fucker was fast!" Raph defended; face flushing so hard his cheeks blended in well with his mask.

"Still. My dad was not to happy about the three huge holes in the wall, you know."

"I finally killed it though!"

"Yeah, by throwing **my** shoe at it!"

"Hey, ain't my fault you left it there - it's the perfect weapon really." Raphael argued and April just rolled her eyes.

"I'll remember that next time we go up against the Foot Clan or the Kraang." April sighed while finally pushing away from the doorway to slowly saunter her way over to him.

"Yeah, you might get a hit in for a change." he quipped and the look that flashed in her eyes had Raphael smirking.

 _This was definitely worth staying up for…_

"Don't tempt me - you may just be my first target." April grumbled but Raphael could hear the teasing tone in her voice.

Raphael chuckled, knowing now for certain it was in all good fun when instead of plopping on the bed next to him, she decided to just lower herself onto his lap. He was certain to immediately grab onto her, pulling her legs to rest atop the bed as she sat sideways on his thighs. So tempted to kiss her now that she was close, he resisted until he knew all was forgiven and she wasn't still a bit salty toward him.

He was only teasing after all - April should be damn used to it by now.

Instead, he was silent waiting for her to speak or make the first move.

 _It didn't take long._

April was still seemingly refusing to look at him more than a quick sideways glance. Eyes steadfast in looking around his room where the only light shining was a small lamp on his dresser.

"Why did you keep it?" April asked and Raph's brow ridges furrowed.

"Huh?" he asked, genuinely confused by the vast change in subject.

"Spike's tank - why did you keep it?" she clarified.

The question was not one that Raphael was expecting nor ready for at all.

It was strange really - I mean, what girl crawls on your lap and acts all coy and sexy then decides to bring up a monumentally painful part of your life? Swallowing back wanting to retort, get angry (his normal reaction), or give a one word answer before changing the subject, Raphael instead went silent.

Really pondering her question - and exactly his reasoning behind keeping it - because truthfully, he never thought about it much.

Spike- _Slash_ had mutated such a long time ago. He'd made his peace with his once-beloved-pet and all was well between them as of now - so, why didn't he just throw it out? It took up a lot of unnecessary floor space that could be dedicated to other practical things like workout equipment or otherwise. He also highly doubted he'd be getting another pet turtle in fear the same thing would occur - _so why had he kept it?_

"Sorry." April suddenly spoke, resting her temple against his cool forehead for a moment; gentle as she brushed her warm skin over his smooth scales. Red hair tickling as it flicked over his forehead and cheek bones. "I shouldn't have asked…"

"Nah. It's okay." Raphael quickly replied, returning her affections by nudging her with his snout.

"No. I'm _really_ sorry, Raph." April continued, right arm wrapping around his shoulders in a sideways half-hug. "It's not a good memory - I shouldn't have brought it up." she continued and what he thought in hopes of changing the subject or a sort of apology, she moved her mouth to press on his for a moment.

"Seriously, babe. It's okay." he spoke when she pulled away from the kiss.

The look on her face was highly contemplative as if she was fighting for the next words. There was still the barest hints of curiosity in her stance as Raphael fought for the words before they spilled out.

"...I-I think it's more of a reminder." he answered lowly and April bit her lip as he spoke.

"To be more careful; be more aware of what could and will happen if you're not careful and vigilante to prevent such things. You know, be more prepared in the future - be on constant guard I suppose." he finished with the barest hints of a shrug.

Raphael grew silent for a long time afterward; bright green eyes straying to the unused tank on the floor by the front of his bed. The water long since drained from the small pool, the rocks that lined the bottom, few pieces of coral, and the plastic chest Mikey found were completely dry and dust had settled atop. A memory so distant but a pain still so fresh in too many aspects.

Silently recalling the small turtle he rescued what may as well have been a lifetime ago - before he met Casey and even before he met April.

It was just him, his brothers and father. Growing up in the sewers and one day, coming along the terrapin with an injured leg and curious stare. Carefully nursing the small creature back to health but instead of releasing it back to wherever it came, Raphael kept him.

Named him Spike and that was it.

Raphael recalled everything he told his beloved pet over the years.

Secrets he dared not breathe to another living soul - even recalled telling Spike after meeting April just how pretty she was. His fears of how perhaps she'd end up betraying them; how he eventually fell for her but pushed it aside to protect Donnie's feelings. How during all of his intense words and revealing the inner workings of his heart and soul, the little turtle just gazed up at him and chewed on his lettuce. But for Raph, the presence and non-judgmental attitude was enough.

The night Spike mutated into Slash etched like a hot brand into his mind.

Pain.

Hurt.

Utter betrayal.

So much anger and rage. Sadness and grief filling him when Slash's intentions became to hurt him - even kill him. How unfair it all was that he raised this turtle and the first thing he did when he mutated was intentionally want to hurt his family and him in turn. How he used so many of those secrets Raphael confided to him - against him - his own anger at his brothers and his feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing were taken far more seriously than they should have.

For Slash to think his brothers were holding him back and should be disposed of…

 _It fucking hurt._

Sure, it all worked out in the end when Slash joined the good side but it still didn't stop those many sleepless nights and tears soaked into his tattered red pillow underneath his head.

That was utter hell he'd rather never revisit…

A sudden hand skirting tenderly over his shoulder and yanking gently at his mask tails had him drawing his attention back to the girl on his lap. Her bright blue eyes filled with worry and manicured brows wrinkling her forehead a bit as she stared at him.

Raphael smiled at her to quickly put her worries at ease.

April slowly smiled back but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she ultimately asked, the hand that wasn't around his shoulder reached up to brush over his cheek.

"Yeah." he answered, hands finally moved from their lax position to wrap around her.

One on her waist, the other on her upper back and pulling her toward him to firmly press his pursed lips upon her cheek. He was pleased when April giggled as he opened his mouth a bit to give wetter kisses with the barest hints of teeth.

"Stop it!" she laughed but he could instantly tell by the tone of her voice she wanted him to do the opposite.

"Make me." he chuckled into her neck, bopping her jaw with his snout as he moved his lips over her sensitive skin.

April suddenly pulled away to look at him. The seriousness in her eyes scared him a bit when she began to speak.

"You're really brave, you know that?" April whispered, "You've been through a lot, Raph - if it was anyone else that had to deal with what you had to - they probably couldn't have dealt with it."

Not exactly sure how to answer that, he just buried his face in her skin; his mouth pressing languid kisses to her neck again. Absolutely despising how the back of his eyes began to burn. His entire focus was just on her; warmth, smell, taste - nothing else.

Raphael did not want to think back to those tumultuous times where he feared Slash would kill his family. To not even fathom what would have happened had he not brought a stop to it…before he knew it, a few tears had leaked out from his eyes but he paid them no heed. Just held his girlfriend closer.

April was all too aware as she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and began returning his affection by brushing warm lips over his domed head.

No words were needed as things slowly calmed to a trickle.

Raph's mouth had languidly halted above her pulse point; breath hot as it skirted pleasantly over her neck and upper chest. Chest shivering a bit as his hands held onto her as tight as her dainty body could handle.

"Thanks." Raphael mumbled into her skin even if he wasn't exactly sure what for. He was certain she understood regardless - April was cool like that.

April just nodded in reply; allowing him to relax for a few moments before she began caressing his shoulders and the sensitive areas along his nape until the terrapin left out a soft groan.

"Heh. Don't start something ya ain't willing to finish, O'Neil." Raph chuckled, the sound of it pleasantly raspy against her skin as his fingers began playing with the hem of her shirt.

April was just pleased that he seemed to be feeling better - pushing the regret of asking him in the first place to the back of her mind.

"Well, I was thinking that since you were _so_ patient while waiting tonight -" April started, moving her hands to cup his face and lift it up where she could meet his eyes.

"Yeah?" he interrupted, thick brow ridges wiggling suggestively. She noticed the redness and wetness lining his bright green eyes but she ignored it and allowed her smile to widen.

"My dad's going on a business trip tomorrow so…maybe you can come over..you know, hang out or whatever." she replied smoothly, fingers tracing along the crack on his plastron coyly.

April held back the desire to bite her lip when his typical sexy smirk inched his way up his face.

"Really?" he asked; the hope in his eyes had her laughing beside herself.

"Mm-hmm…if you're good." she pressed her mouth over his.

Raphael chuckled against her lips, finger pushing into the hem of her shorts to caress the smooth skin he found. April shook her head at his actions before pulling away.

"Tomorrow, Raph." she chided before moving off of his lap much to his dismay.

"Aw, c'mon…I'll turn on the music again." he begged and it appeared his pout was back.

"No. I'm tired. Besides, doesn't absence make the heart grow fonder?"

"It's been almost a whole fuckin' month since we had sex - don't give me that nonsense."

April just laughed, pulling the elastic out of her hair and taking off her boots as Raph shot her back a dirty look.

"I waited more than a year. You'll last until tomorrow night." April was quick to remind him as she turned back toward him and approached the bed. Smiling before leaning in for she couldn't help but kiss his pouty lips.

Raph didn't seem to get the memo as he yanked on her waist to bring her closer and intensified their lip-lock.

April broke it and Raph growled.

"Goodnight." she said with a quick smile, crawling into his sheets and patting the cool ones next to her. "So…you planning on joining me?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Raph grumbled while removing his pads and wrappings; flicking off the lamp before making his way over to her.

The bed creaked loudly from the distribution of his weight as he lay facing her. He knew April could not see him but he was quietly scanning over her face and closed eyes; heart still beating a bit frantic in his chest as he looked at her. Swallowing back a lump that clogged his throat, he scooted closer to her. Arms wrapping around her waist as he burrowed his snout into the halo of red hair scattered upon the pillow.

Long moments spent thinking back on all they'd been through even after his incident with Spike/Slash. Her strength displayed throughout it all… A human girl who should have never known the horrors of the Foot Clan and Kraang. The hell of knowing them mutating her father twice and getting her in more deadly situations than should have ever been worth it…yet she stayed. Proving to have greater strength than any human should have been capable of…what many would never been able to handle…

… _yet she did…_

"You're pretty brave yourself." he whispered into her hair as his eyes slipped closed and sleep pulled him into darkness.


	42. Mutant Turtle Anatomy Lesson

**Afterglow - Chapter 42**

 **Rated: M**

 **Mutant Turtle Anatomy Lesson**

 _Chapter Summary: April wants an up close and personal mutant turtle anatomy lesson and Raph is none too happy about it._

* * *

 **Sorry for the lack of uploading for over a month. I actually did submit a new chapter that takes place in the "Afterglow" universe that fit in with what happened in the finale of the latest TMNT season. It's called** _ **Solace**_ **if you want to go find it - it's NSFW and is basically some comfort/grief sex taking place after Splinter's death.**

 **Anyhoo, here's some much-deserved smut for being so patient. Enjoy. Lolz.**

* * *

"You're kiddin', right?!" Raph huffed whilst crossing his arms.

"Aww, come _on_ , Raph!" April replied, arms hopelessly flailing before falling among the strewn blankets of her bed.

The two young lovers sat among a few throw pillows and April's worn blue comforter. As promised last night, her dad was indeed out of town leaving the apartment to themselves for the first time in months. Just a few minutes ago, they were heavily making out and rolling around on the small expanse of her bed. Things were set in place to start a much needed night of passionate love-making when April made an teensy-weensy request.

"I am **not** letting ya see how my junk works, April!"

"Why the hell not!? Need I remind you of the countless hours I let you touch, prod, and examine my junk?" April snidely remarked, her arms folding across her naked breasts, much to Raph's obvious discontent. His emerald green skin gaining a bright red hue across his cheeks.

"It's just - **creepy**!" Raph growled, his pout readily springing to his face and his cheeks growing redder if that was even possible at this point.

"How is _that_ creepy? I don't think it's creepy when you spend an awfully long amount of time meandering between my legs just licking, touching, rubbing, and poking everything."

"Hey! Don't act like you don't like it!" Raph grumbled, his face turned on full-time cherry mode.

"Who says I don't like it? And what makes you think you won't like it either! I would like to repay the favor. I mean, hell, Raph! You've only let me touch you down there a couple of times since we've been together and you pretty much go down on me every single time we have sex! It just seems a little unfair to me." April commented, her arms tightening around her chest.

"Aw, come on, April! What is this even about?!"

"...Don't you trust me?"

Raph stilled for a moment. His lips in a thin line as he studied her face before he let out a deep sigh and answered, "Aw, hell! Of course I do. You _know_ that!"

"Then **let** me..." April asked, her arms falling to the bed before crawling over to where he sat in front of her.

April followed the bobbing of his Adam's apple as he swallowed stiffly as she proceeded to saunter toward him on all fours. Once she was in front of the blushing terrapin, she lifted one hand and gently placed it against the crack on his plastron. Blue heavily-lidded eyes met green, instantly taking notice of his wide nervous gaze.

"Relax..." April breathed, her eyes sliding closed as moved forward to brush her lips against his. She cracked open her eyes and stared into his hazy lust-ridden green irises as a smirk lifted a corner of her mouth. She kissed him deeply, never breaking eye contact as her tongue brushed along his cool lips. April inwardly cheered when Raph's eyes rolled back, than closed; his mouth opening almost of its own accord. Their tongues danced for an insurmountable amount of time before things began getting out of her control.

Raphael reached over, one of his hands roughly grabbing a breast and kneading it while his other cupped her mound, his index brushing through her wet pussy lips and teased the ringed opening of her vagina.

April gasped, pulling away from his kiss and grabbing both of his wrists to stop his actions.

"No. Not tonight. Right now, it's my turn to make you feel good..." April breathed against his mouth. "Lay back..."

Raph's eyes opened and it looked as if he wanted to object, but April was quick to distract him. She began kissing his face, his throat, before moving down his plastron. The novel feel of those grooved plates felt smooth and cool against her molten lips. Noticing the smooth strokes of Raph's hands upon her shoulders and hair, but put a stop to it by again grabbing his wrists.

"Am I gonna have to tie you up?" April muttered, raising her head to look at his amused face.

"Maybe... Don't think it would help though." he replied, his voice smooth as silk and making her stomach do somersaults.

"Just... Let me do this... I know! Think of it as an exercise in self-control Master Splinter taught us about today. You know, like you had me do when we has sex in your room…"

"Ya know as well as anyone that self-control ain't never been a strength of mine, babe." Raph growled, his hand groping one of her breasts before she smacked his hand away.

"Humor me, then."

"Ugh... Fine." he shrugged, placing his hands behind his head as he relaxed against the pile of strewn pillows and blankets.

"That's better. Now..." April mumbled, crawling over him and kissing his lips soundly as her hands tenderly cupped his face. "Let me make you feel good..."

April sat down between his legs, her eyes instantly drawn toward the area between where his plastron ended and shell began. Those innercostal plates that retracted when his penis descended. She lifted her eyes for a moment and noticed Raph silently studying her and waiting for her next move. April suddenly lowered, kissing along his plastron and making her way toward the area between his legs. Her hands now rested upon his gorgeous muscular thighs as she lowered her face to the level of his crotch.

April firmly coaxed his legs to splay further and noticing Raphael's hesitation, she wasted no time in brushing her lips along his inner thighs.

Raph immediately tensed.

The sensations began to drive him slowly insane. He may have lied a bit earlier, because Raphael highly considered himself a master of self-control. He had been wildly attracted to the redhead since the first moment he laid eyes on her and yet she'd been the one to make the first move. Sure, his best friend and brother were all over her keeping him in check but still, he considered it a pretty good exercise in self-control when all he wanted to do was kiss and ravage her most of the time.

Even now, with over 200 pounds on her, he could easily turn this around but he knew he owed it to her. She'd always been game for even some of the kinkier things he'd suggested over the course of their sexual relationship, so if she wanted to see his penis popping out, that was her deal.

Now that tying up thing sounded pretty damn...

" **Yeek**!" Raphael screeched upon feeling her tongue lewdly licking atop the retractable plate between his legs.

"Sorry. Too soon?" April asked smoothly but Raphael didn't miss her pleased smirk before she lowered her head back down to continue kissing around his nether region.

"Just surprised me is all..." he muttered back, closing his eyes against the overwhelming sensation. Raphael lingeringly allowed the arousal to wash through him. He knew the sooner his penis descended, the sooner April would be satisfied with her little mutant turtle anatomy lesson, and then this night could go back on its proper course.

April watched in wonder as the small plate between his legs began retracting with her sensual ministrations. She lifted her lips off the hard piece of armor and brushed her fingers along the crevice as it continued to be revealed to her. Licking her lips, she soon took notice of a nearly invisible slit where there once was hard grayish-green plating. Bravely, she ran the tip of her finger along the slit, noticing the smooth lubricated substance leaking from it. Lowering herself once more, she licked along the crevice and felt Raphael twitch at the erotic act.

A few more seconds of prodding from her lips, she felt a soft movement and the slit began parting. Opening her eyes to a bright pink peeking from in-between contrasting emerald green skin. Immediately, she placed her fingers around the opening and gingerly caressed the sensitive crevice.

April felt a tingle run up her spine when Raphael groaned in a deep raspy voice, his chest vibrating with the sound. Her eyes lifted for a moment, noticing his head thrown back and arms strewn above him, grasping the edge of the bed tightly. April lowered her vision once more to see the tip of his penis begin poking out from between the slit. Internally kinda disheartened that she missed it; that thought flitting away when it continued pushing out.

"Ooh..." April cooed softly, her hand immediately brushing along his sensitive tip as it was slowly revealed to her. Watching in stiff amazement on how his body worked and knowing it was because of her actions this was happening...it filled her with more pride than probably was necessary but she didn't care one bit.

Slowly, his penis began ascending and quickly growing under her watchful gaze. As soon as it fully pushed out of the crevice, April took notice that it wasn't as thick as she was accustomed to but as soon as she moved to touch him and pressed her mouth along the length of him, his penis soon engorged further. Girth thicker and pulsating under her touch, April moaned at the sight. Hands silently caressing the lubed surface and she couldn't help but place her mouth over the purplish bulbous tip; suckling on as much as she could fit into her mouth.

Raph immediately growled at the sensation. The warmth of her lips and tongue lapping and circling the tip in teasing strokes. The second she began sucking, Raph flat out churred, his hands fisting into the worn comforter and head fell back into the soft pillow as she continued.

"April…" he breathed out, hands desperately wanting to touch her yet he was still heeding her warnings. Instead, he focused on the sensation of her mouth over him. So incredibly similar yet different to how her vagina felt when he penetrated her. Her mouth was indeed wetter and all the different sensations such as the pressure of her teeth and tongue and lips providing a tight circle around the head of his cock felt so fucking unbelievable. How she drew him into her mouth and eagerly bobbed her head up and down as she worked him had him letting out quite an embarrassing array of pleasured praises.

"Aw **fuck** , yeah…" he groaned, stomach tensing and back arching as he tried to put more of himself in her mouth; the veins on his penis pulsating with every movement of her mouth. Raphael swallowed thickly, knuckles nearly white from where they were firmly fisted into the sheets. Her mouth had not yet ceased in the slightest and Raphael feared that if she kept this up, it wouldn't be long until he came.

It was _so_ much different than regular sexual intercourse.

In this case, he was entirely under her mercy whereas before he was in complete control of every thrust, how fast and hard he went and he usually was the one on top. There, his stamina held him back and he was able to keep going and going but now that she was calling all the shots, Raphael feared he'd come before this even got interesting.

The second her hands clasped to the base of his penis, Raphael was sure that if he didn't make a move, it would be over.

Before April could even stroke her fisted hand once up his shaft, Raphael had grasped her hands and pulled them away. She lifted her head, blue eyes wide in complete confusion; soft mouth leaving his dick with a satisfying popping noise which had chills echo up and down his spine at the pleasantness of it all.

"What's wrong?" April breathed out the question.

Raphael didn't bother answering, his green eyes glancing at her lips which were so wet, plump and red it almost had him cuming right there and then. Everything this girl did drove him out of his fucking mind in all the best ways.

"You, um…heh. Almost made me cum there." Raphael quietly admitted; his cheeks flushing pleasantly under her curious stare. He desperately tried to ignore how his penis still throbbed at the sight of her and the ghost of her lips that he still felt upon the tip of it. …but damn, he wanted to be inside of her…

"...I did?" the surprise on her face made him choke out a small chuckle.

"Yeah."

"Oh." the genuine shocked expression on her face had him feeling a bit more at ease; her silence following gave him enough time to push himself up on his elbows. "So…can I keep going or do you need a minute?" April asked and if at all possible, his cheeks flushed even more.

"What?" he choked out.

"I…I want to keep going." April shrugged and it was now her turn to flush.

"April, I just said I was gonna cum - I'd rather come inside you if that's okay." he laughed, reaching over to brush a hand over her breast but she slapped his hand away.

"Raph, I was going to let you come inside my mouth."

"..." he grew completely silent before he blurted out, "No! Not like that! I-I thought once you gotta see how my junk worked that we were gonna have sex!"

"I told you I wanted to make you feel good…that was part of the deal, wasn't it?" April bit her lip, hands free from his own where she began rubbing her palms languidly down his plastron.

"B-But, sex _does_ feel good."

"No shit, Einstein." April muttered whilst rolling her pretty blue eyes. "but I said I wanted to do this for you - I want to, you know…give you oral sex...until you come."

"Damn, you're kinky." Raph muttered out but instead of looking excited at all about the promise of a blow job, he looked more nauseous than anything.

"How is _that_ kinky? You give it to me all the time!"

"...that's different." he looked away.

April's eyes widened, shocked when she saw the blatant hesitance in his eyes, "…are you serious? You don't want me to?"

"I mean, that little bit was cool and all, but I'd rather you know, do it the old-fashioned way." he shrugged, suddenly finding the nightstand by the bed very interesting.

"Seriously? I offer to give you oral sex and you don't want it!?"

"...not really…?"

"Wow...you are probably he _only_ man on the face of this planet who doesn't like blow jobs." she groaned in a frustrated manner, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I can't be the **only** one." Raphael tried to shrug it off.

"What? Is it _me_? Did I do it _wrong_? I mean, I never got a chance to practice before with you so if it's _that_ awful for you, I'm… **UGH**! Whatever. Fine. We'll do it your way - just get it over with." April ranted; leaving Raphael little time to even think of a response before April pulled away from him to lay back. Opening her legs in invitation but the pissed-off expression on her face was anything other than inviting.

A sudden sense of regret buried in Raph's gut when he seen her laying there; arms crossed and legs spread. He didn't as hell want this either…even if seeing her wet and wanton was incredibly tempting.

"...April…" he fought the urge and spoke out.

"What? I thought you wanted sex." she widened her legs even further, "Now, hurry up - I'm waiting. I don't have all night…" she grunted and Raph cringed hearing the whimper in her voice and how misty her eyes were getting.

"April, what the hell? I don't get it! I mean, I just…I didn't want **this**!" he finally exploded, hands gesturing to where she lay.

"Well, then what the fuck _do_ you want?!"

"...what do you want me to say? You wanted to see how my dick came out, you gotta see it, so what's the problem?"

April was quiet for a moment before she sat up looking more pained than Raphael had ever remembered seeing her in a long time.

"I wanted to do it for you, but it's obvious it wasn't good enough."

"What?! I told you that you almost made me cum! How can you think it wasn't good? It was great, I just…"

"Why won't you let me just finish?" April asked. "I let you go down on me all the time and I don't know, Raph…I just want to do this for you."

"I want tonight to last longer, alright?!" Raph shouted; cheeks flushing and April's face fell; a slight smirk lifting one corner of her mouth.

"Heh…since when have you ever stopped after one time anyway? You think if I give you oral that we're not going to have sex tonight?"

"It's not that, it's just…"

"What?" April asked, the genuine curiosity in her voice had him meeting her eyes.

"I just…it's fuckin' embarrassing, alright?"

"What's embarrassing?"

"That within barely one minute of your mouth on me, I'm already ready to cum…It's just embarrassing!"

"How is that embarrassing? When you put your mouth on me, I don't last long either." April admitted with a shrug as she scooted closer to him.

At least it was a start.

"I'm a ninja, I'm supposed to have more stamina than that."

"Raph. We haven't had sex in over a month; I think you're ready to spring forward regardless of the blow job." April muttered and Raph flushed.

"Shut up…" he grumbled and April couldn't help but lean forward to kiss his pouty mouth; Raph cringed at the taste of himself cloying to her lips; **that** he wasn't too keen on…

April chuckled seeing the disgusted expression but ignored it in favor or reaching down between them to tug at his penis. The slick organ responding to her incredibly soft touch.

"...may I _please_ finish what I started?" April purred, brushing her nose over his snout.

Raph sat there for a good long minute just lost in his head before he huffed out a breath of air and laid back down. "Fine."

Milliseconds after the words crossed his lips, April pulled the tip of him back into her warm mouth and Raph immediately groaned.

Raphael's body tensed as she continued right where she left off; tongue swirling erotically over the tip, lightly probing the slit on top of the bulbous head; languidly tasting the bit of pre-cum that was leaking out. Salty and somewhat bitter, it wasn't the _greatest_ tasting thing in any sense, but it wasn't repulsive at all and she knew she could handle swallowing it when he finally did come in her mouth. But until that time, she slowly enjoyed the experience; giving him oral reminded her of the novel feeling of sucking a Popsicle in a sense.

'Biggest damn Popsicle I've ever seen..' she thought in amusement as she swirled her tongue over the bulbous head.

"April…" Raphael growled; his raspy deep voice laced with unbelievable amounts of pleasure caused her body to tense and the tiny hairs on the back of her neck to stand up on end.

April finally felt comfortable enough to lower herself onto her belly, mouth never leaving his penis as she finally came to rest between his splayed legs. Mouth and tongue constantly alternating between sucking, licking, and kissing the tip and length of him as her hand lazily jerked and pulled near the thicker base. Her own body reacting to him; legs squeezing together to relieve some of her own growing arousal.

If she was at all honest with herself, she wanted him between her legs just as badly but she was far too stubborn to admit it.

"Fucking hell…" Raphael grunted, head lolling this way and that as she intensified her focus to his tip.

Sucking hard and fast; her hands were more assertively pumping him. April knew he was close by how the veins on his penis throbbed from under her ministrations. Legs caging her in were tense and shaking slightly; his chest and back arching as she continued with her sensual torture. April absolutely adored having this effect over the powerful ninja; incredibly muscled body tense under her fingertips as if she had complete and utter control over him.

 _It was an addictive feeling…_

April moved one of her hands from his shaft, pressing it over one of his hips to try and keep him still; she knew it would be fruitless had he wanted to move but she even knew her hand being there would deter him. The sounds that were now coming out of him were more desperate and wanton; a lot of gasping and groans and the knuckles on his hands were nearly lime green from the tenseness reigning throughout his entire body.

Raphael was so close and April was determined to bring him over the brink.

She closed her eyes; mouth intensifying the sucking motion as her head bobbed up and down on the tip of him to the point she was essentially fucking him with her mouth. In as much as she could take and almost out but her lips refused to leave him for any reason. Her hand stroked hard, fingers varying the tightness of the grip she had on his slick organ until she heard a few loud moans followed by a bellowing churr - one that shook the whole room in its intensity. Preparing herself for only a second before his penis shuttered; throbbing erratically in her mouth as he came hard.

Semen squirting into her willing mouth; trails and globs of the white liquid seeping down her throat. April swallowing it before it could scarcely hit her tongue in fear that she may end up spitting it out with the sheer overwhelming amount and taste. The warmth was what shocked her most; it was almost hot against her. April realizing how much more different if when he came inside her this way. It was interesting comparison to say the least.

April allowed the last few aftershocks; keeping her mouth firm over him as he completely finished and slowly came down from his incredible high. Relishing in listening to his gasps and heavy breaths. Her blue eyes opened only to half-mast; enjoying watching his heaving chest and body laying down so wantonly; a sheen of light sweat covering his gorgeous,muscled form.

It was easily the most gorgeously erotic thing she'd ever seen.

Penis left her mouth with a satisfying pop; a small trail of his cum, slick lubricant and her saliva slipped down her chin when she lifted her face from his groin. Watching in anticipation when Raphael finally got his bearings. The red-banded turtle lifting his head to stare at her. Blue eyes sparkling as she put her mouth on him again; lips pressing soft kisses all the way down the right side as she made sure to never break eye contact.

"See?" April asked, pilling away and wiping off some remnants near the edge of her mouth as she smirked; starting unabashed at his astonished face. "That wasn't so bad was it?"

April didn't even have barely any time to gasp before Raph moved, pushing her playfully onto her back and slamming his mouth over hers in a heated kiss that took her breath away. She knew right now that this night was far from over…


End file.
